Brokenhearted

Find healing and reach your God given dreams

By Joey Berrios

Copyright © 2014 All rights reserved.

About The Author

Joey Berrios is an evangelist who lives in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He is the author of Addicted To Love. His vision is to “Heal the brokenhearted so they can reach their God given dreams.” You can read his blog at joeyberrios.net. You can follow him on Twitter @joeyberriosme.

Introduction

As I write this introduction, there are millions of people across this world suffering from a horrible condition. This condition is not necessarily a physical ailment or emotional diagnosis; this problem is a spiritual problem.

People all over the world today are looking for answers to their hurt and pain. Though TV, the internet, and self-help books are full of solutions to the problem, many of these solutions are only temporary.

We are looking for real answers to our problems. And we can’t seem to find any relief from the things we battle with on a daily basis. We try one solution after the next, but we never really find the joy, peace, and success we crave.

Our problem is that we are brokenhearted.

Our broken hearts manifest themselves in various ways: addiction, pornography, depression, loneliness, low self esteem, anxiety, anger, and pain. We wish we could find relief for our broken hearts, but there seems to be no solution. We have tried everything our world has to offer, but we have come up short.

This is a book about healing.

I am writing this book to help people who are struggling with a broken heart. You may have tried everything you can think of, and you may feel that there is no hope for you. But the truth is that there is a solution, and his name is Jesus.

In Luke 4:18, Jesus said the following words: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

One of the main goals of Jesus was to heal the brokenhearted. You may feel cast down and dismayed. You may feel like the whole world is caving in on you. But I encourage you not to give up! Jesus wants to heal your broken heart and help you to live the life you have always wanted. As you look to Jesus, he will bring the peace, victory, and strength that you have always dreamed about.

I have divided this book into three sections. The first section will detail how we become brokenhearted. These chapters will include specific reasons why we are the way we are. The second section will detail a step by step process of finding healing for our broken hearts and reaching our God given dreams. The third section will show how we can help others find healing and reach their God given dreams.

As you read this book, I pray that you will find true healing for your broken heart. God has an amazing plan for your life!

Chapter 1

We’re Broken

Many of us are dealing with problems which we don’t have any solutions for. We have tried everything we can think of, but we can’t find a solution. We battle with depression, loneliness, and fear of the future. We wonder why our lives aren’t what we hoped they would be.

When we thought about our futures, we imagined we would have success, meaningful relationships, and a prosperous career. We thought we would be surrounded by friends and family and make a great contribution to the world. Unfortunately, when we survey our lives, there is often a discrepancy between our desires and reality. We thought we would be able to live our dreams and be successful. We thought we would be prosperous and do amazing things. But we find ourselves on a nonstop roller coaster of pain, suffering, and hurt.

When we survey the Bible, there is a woman that faced the same circumstances that many of us are facing.

Broken Dreams

Mark 5:25-34 says the following: And a woman was there who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years. She had suffered a great deal under the care of many doctors and had spent all she had, yet instead of getting better she grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came up behind him in the crowd and touched his cloak, because she thought, “If I just touch his clothes, I will be healed.” Immediately her bleeding stopped and she felt in her body that she was freed from her suffering. At once Jesus realized that power had gone out from him. He turned around in the crowd and asked, “Who touched my clothes?” “You see the people crowding against you,” his disciples answered, “and yet you can ask, ‘Who touched me?’ ” But Jesus kept looking around to see who had done it. Then the woman, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell at his feet and, trembling with fear, told him the whole truth. He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has healed you. Go in peace and be freed from your suffering.”

This woman had done everything she could to find healing and relief. She had paid doctors. She had sought advice. She had went to therapy. Nothing seemed to work. But then she heard about Jesus. She decided to go to the road where Jesus was passing by. Her hope was to simply touch his garment. She believed if she touched him, that her life would completely change. This woman found an answer to her problem. She found healing, love, and peace as she reached out to Jesus.

This story is relevant for us today. The answer that this woman found is the answer that will set us free. As we draw close to Jesus, we find the life, success, and healing we need. As we draw close to Jesus, we find the answers that we could never find on our own.

Maybe when you look at your own life you see a broken dream. Maybe at one point in life you dreamed of doing something amazing with your life. But as the years have passed, you wonder if your life will ever amount to anything. When we look at the woman that Jesus healed, we see that she had the same ideas and feelings as we do. She felt that she would never reach her dreams and desires. She felt like she was destined to live a life of hurt and pain.

Wayne Cordeiro tells the story about a church member named Bully, a gentle man who got his nickname from his days of barking orders at construction sites. After Cordeiro noticed the scars on Bully's hands, he asked him, "Bully, how'd you get so many cuts?" Bully told the following story about a tsunami that hit the Hawaiian Island in the 1960s:

I was working above the bay that our home overlooks. One morning, the tide receded so much that the children ran out to catch fish in the tide pools left behind. We'd never witnessed the tide so low before, and it gave the kids an unprecedented opportunity to play and romp through the reefs that now protruded above the waterline like newly formed islands in the ocean. But what we didn't know was that the ocean was preparing to unleash the largest tsunami our sleepy little town had ever experienced.

Within minutes, a sixty-foot wave charged our unsuspecting town with a force we'd never seen before. The hungry waters rushed inland. Like bony fingers, the waters scratched and pulled homes, cars, possessions, and people back into a watery grave. The devastating power of that wave left in its wake twisted buildings, shattered windows, splintered homes, and broken dreams. I ran as fast as I could to our home, where I found my wife sobbing uncontrollably. "Robby is missing," she shouted. "I can't find Robby!"

Robby was our six-month-old child who was asleep in the house when the ocean raged against our helpless village. I was frantic as I looked over the shore strewn with the remains of the frail stick houses that were now piled in heaps along the sands. Realizing that another wave may soon be following, I began running on top of the wooden structures, tearing up pieces of twisted corrugated roofs that were ripped like discarded remains of a demolition project. I tore up one piece after another running over boards and broken beams until I heard the whimpering of a child under one of the mattresses that had gotten lodged beneath an overturned car.

I reached under and pulled up my little son, Robby. I tucked him under my arm like a football player running for the end zone, then I sprinted back over the debris until I reached my wife. We ran for higher ground, hugging our child and one another, thanking God for his mercy.

Just then, my wife said, "Bully, your feet and your hands. You're covered in blood!"

I had been wearing tennis shoes, and I didn't realize that as I ran over the wreckage, I was stepping on protruding nails and screws that had been exposed in the rubble. And as I pulled back the torn corrugated roofing looking for Robby, the sharp edges tore into my hand …. I was so intent on finding my boy that nothing else mattered. (1)

This father is the perfect example of what our heavenly father wants to do for us. He wants to take the pain and hurt of this life on himself, and help us be free. Just as this earthly father saved his son from the tsunami, God wants to deliver you from the tsunami of pain, hurt, and loss that has surrounded you.

You may not feel that this is possible, but God has already planned your freedom. He is already moving on your behalf. All you have to do is respond to his great love for you.

Broken Bodies

When we look at the woman in Mark 5, we can’t help but see she was hurting not only emotionally but physically. Maybe the source of your pain has been a physical ailment that you have not been able to shake. You have done everything in your power, but you have come up short. Your body is not getting well, and you are more discouraged than ever.

This is exactly how the woman in Mark 5 felt. She had tried everything she could think of, but she could not get better. She was broken physically, and there was no answer to her problem.

In the fall of 2000, doctors diagnosed Pastor Ed Dobson with ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease), an incurable and fatal disease. The doctors gave him two to five years to live and predicted that he would spend most of that time in a disabled condition.

Shortly after he was diagnosed, Ed wanted someone to anoint him with oil and pray for healing. And he wanted someone to pray who really believed in healing. So Ed invited a friend, a Pentecostal pastor who had regular healing services, to come over and pray for him. Here's how Ed described what happened:

It was one of the most moving evenings of my entire life. He began by telling stories of people he had prayed for who were miraculously healed. He also told stories about people he had prayed for who were not healed and had passed away, receiving that ultimate and final healing. Before he prayed for me he gave me some advice.

"Don't become obsessed with getting healed, Ed," he said. "If you get obsessed [with getting healed], you will lose your focus. Get lost in the wonder of God, and who knows what he will do for you."

This is some of the best advice I have ever received …. Since that night, I've been trying to get—and stay—lost in the wonder of God. (2)

This is an awesome story with incredible advice. We must learn to get lost in the presence of Jesus. This is what the woman in Mark 5 did. She got lost in Jesus. She found love, peace, and hope in Jesus. When she did this, she found the physical healing she so badly needed.

Broken Relationships

When we look at the woman in Mark 5, we can only imagine the effect the woman’s health issues had on her relationships. She lived in loneliness and despair. The pain she had was unbearable. Her sickness isolated her from those she loved and cared for.

Maybe you are brokenhearted because of relationships in your life. Maybe things have not went well for you in the area of relationships. You hoped to have a loving, successful marriage. You dreamed of having children who would grow up with a godly heritage. You imagined yourself with great friends who would always be there for you.

But when you look at your life, you do not have the satisfying relationships that you long for. Your relationships have ended in pain, and you wonder if things will ever get better. You’re brokenhearted because of the lack of genuine friendships and relationships in your life.

In the early 1980s, Patti Davis was passionately opposed to the buildup of nuclear weapons. She constantly spoke at rallies criticizing the nuclear arms policies of the Reagan administration. The main difference between Patti and the other demonstrators was that Ronald Reagan was her father.

Her mother was appalled at Patti's actions because she felt they were a personal attack on her father. But as long as she was respectful and civil, her father didn't mind Patti publicly expressing her views. Writing about her father in the January, 2012, issue of Town & Country, Patti admits she chose the more militant, "in your face" approach instead. She frequently told the media it wasn't personal, but today she realizes that her actions spoke louder than her words. While Patti was demonstrating for world peace, she now admits that she was also "a child railing against a parent, nothing more …. I was at war with my father."

One of her biggest regrets was turning her father down every time he wanted to sit down and talk with her about life. She would always tell him: "I already know your side." She admits her refusals to talk wounded him.

She also expressed regret for participating in an anti-nuclear rally in 1982 at the Rose Bowl with 100,000 people in attendance. Just before she came to the podium to speak, the entire audience was chanting: "Get a new president!" Every fiber of her being told her to walk away, but she gave the speech anyway. Looking back, she admits no one remembered her speech, only that she came onstage when 100,000 people were calling for her father to resign.

Later in life, after her father had been diagnosed with Alzheimer's, she said, "I would look into my father's eyes and try to reach past the murkiness of Alzheimer's with my words, my apology, hoping that in his heart he heard me and understood."

Patti Davis concludes her article: "I wish that now, all those years ago, I had led with kindness, not with ideological stridency. We are, after all, remembered in the end for how we treat others. Sometimes the political has to be tempered by the personal." (3)

Maybe when you look back at your relationships, you feel like Patti. You are filled with regret. You wish you could go back and change things. Your relationships seem broken. You are brokenhearted because of the strained relationships in your life.

Broken Finances

Financial problems can also lead us to being brokenhearted. Maybe you have done everything you can to find relief in your life. Your finances just don’t seem to do what you want them to do. You want to be able to put money into savings. You want to be able to invest your money. Instead you find yourself falling into increasingly more debt.

Matt Woodley, managing editor of PreachingToday.com, offers the following story about finances:

For the past few years my friend Chris has worked for a nursery farm on Long Island. During the height of the growing season, about 28 other employees, mostly seasonal workers from Central America, also report to Chris. As a follower of Jesus he tries to share Christ's love and treat each of his fellow-workers with respect and dignity. In Chris's words:

In my broken Spanish, throughout the day I'll do my best to show genuine interest in their lives, getting to know them, and asking about their lives. Most of the guys send a lot of their earnings back to their families, so I also ask them about their wives and children. Sometimes I'll try to share Christ's love in practical ways by giving them a ride home or picking them up a fast-food sandwich. But we always end each day by looking each other in the eye as we say, "Gracias Dios por un dia más," or "Thank God for another day."

One day two of the men, Gonzalo and Daniel, wanted to show their appreciation for me, so they decided to splurge on a special gift. They pooled their resources and took me out for a special dinner—a $7 Value Meal at the local Burger King. By spending $3.50 a piece, Daniel and Gonzalo were giving me a sacrificial gift. The week before they gave me this gift, a storm had cut their work hours and their income in half. But that didn't deter their generosity.

Honestly, throughout my life I've been treated to some special meals and I've received some expensive presents, but that was one gift that I'll treasure forever. During the meal in Burger King, Gonzalo and Daniel treated me like a king. I never knew fast-food burger and fries could taste like a foretaste of the heavenly feast. (4)

Maybe you long to be like the workers who blessed their manager. You want to be generous and bless others. But instead, you feel that you could never be generous. You feel that you will never have enough finances to be a blessing to other people.

The Solution

The woman in Mark 5 found solutions to her problems. For her problem of broken dreams, Jesus gave her a new dream. For her problem of a broken body, Jesus completely restored her. For her problem of broken relationships, Jesus brought the healing and help she so desperately needed. For her problem with finances, Jesus brought success and prosperity.

If you are dealing with a broken heart, Jesus wants to heal you. He wants to put a new dream in your heart. He wants to heal your sick body. He wants to bless and heal your relationships. He wants to bless you with financial success. Remember that Jesus said doing these things was his mission in Luke 4:18: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted.

Jesus wants to heal your broken heart and bless you with the life that you have always wanted. Are you ready to respond to him? As you continue to read, you will find the process by which Jesus brings healing to our lives.

Chapter 2

Broken Dreams

When you examine your life, do you see a trail of broken dreams? Many people in our world today are brokenhearted because of wrecked dreams. They felt that they would accomplish something wonderful in their lives, but they have only found pain, hurt, and tragedy.

Maybe you dreamed of a future filled with success and joy, but you have only found depression and pain. Maybe you sought a future of prosperity and peace, but you have only found hurt. You want so badly to experience the destiny that God has for you, but you are not sure how to get there.

You feel like giving up because nothing seems to workout for you. Once you get your hopes up, you are only broken and hurt again. You are reluctant to dream because of all the pain in your past.

Broken Hope

The Bible says the following about hope in Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

This scripture says that God has an amazing plan for our lives. He wants to bless us and give us hope. But maybe when you examine your life, you are tired of hoping. You have tried to hope, but things never workout the way you want.

You have so much brokenness in your life. You want to overcome it and be healed, but you are having such a hard time accomplishing your goal.

Barry Zito was once known as one of the most dominating pitchers in Major League baseball. But in 2010 Zito had reached his lowest point: He was removed from his team's starting roster. The next season he was plagued by injuries and poor performances. By the end of 2012 he had returned to his peak performance, winning his last 14 starts and playing a pivotal role in the San Francisco Giant's World Series victory.

In a 2012 interview Zito explained how God had used suffering to get his attention and to lead him to commit "his life to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior." Zito said:

Sometimes you have to go through difficulty and physical trials to really get broken down. In 2011, I got broken down physically as well as mentally. In August of that year, I had this very odd injury in April of 2011 …. I came off the field that day after never being hurt in 11 years, and I said, "All right, something bigger is going on here. A message is being sent, and I've got to listen." A few months later, I realized I'd been doing it alone. My best friend told me an old story I really love. A shepherd will be leading his sheep, and one of the sheep will be walking astray from the pack. The shepherd will take his rod and break the sheep's leg, and the sheep will have to rely on the shepherd to get better. But once that leg is completely healed, that sheep never leaves the side of the shepherd ever again.

That's a really beautiful metaphor. A lot of things happen to us as people, and we realize we've been relying on our own strength for too long. Last September, I got a tattoo, and it's the only one I have, of a golden calf on the inside of my right bicep. I show people that, and it signifies idolatry and that I was putting things before God. I haven't talked much about this. When I committed with my chaplain, he said, "You don't need to go around telling people this stuff. There will come a time and a place." I guess that's a change for me too. I used to kind of dig attention. Now I'm seeking deeper fulfillment. (5)

You may not realize it now, but like Barry your brokenness is going to be turned around for you good. Though you don’t understand the pain that is going on in your life right now, God wants to give you the healing you so badly need.

Randall Rauser, in his book What on Earth Do We Know about Heaven?, tells the following story:

Ever since he was a little boy, his parents had been promising that they would give him a beautiful car to drive when he turned 16. He even planned to park it in the family's barn where it could stay warm and dry. Only first his dad would have to get rid of that old car sitting in the barn. He couldn't wait for his dad to haul it off to the dump to make way for his dream car.

But when would that day come? When would that new car arrive? And when would his dad get rid of that old junky car under the tarp? Then one evening in early summer he heard strange sounds coming from that old barn. It sounded like power tools … a drill … a hammer. What was going on? Peering into the darkness he saw nothing but the stars overhead. And he noticed that a light was on in the barn. He walked into the warm night air, down the dirt path, and poked his head into the barn door.

When he saw the tarp, rolled up and left against the door, he excitedly thought, Was Dad finally getting rid of that junky old car? But then he suddenly looked and saw one of the most incredible sports cars in automotive history. It was a Corvette, but not just any Corvette. It was the coveted, beautiful, powerful 1963 Corvette 327 V8 with a split window, aluminum knock-off wheels, painted candy apple red.

So that was the car underneath the tarp all those years. He stood there stunned. It was always there, just getting ready for his father's masterful work of restoration. At that moment his father looked up, his hands deep in the engine bay, and handed his son a socket wrench. With a broad smile, he said, "Come on, son. Grab a tool and let's get this car ready." (6)

You may not realize it now, but God is working on you. Just like the father in the story prepared a wonderful gift for his son, God has wonderful gifts for you. These great gifts may not have materialized yet in your life, but if you will hold onto God’s promises, they will come.

The Bible says this in James 1:17: Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

In other words, God has perfect gifts in store for you. He wants to bless you beyond your wildest dreams. But will you trust him to bless you in his own timing?

Broken Career

Many individuals in our society today suffer from a broken career. They have gone as far as their education will allow them. They wish they could have their dream job, but they are stuck in a 9 to 5 which offers little chance of promotion.

They wonder how they got stuck in such a dead end job. They would love to do something meaningful with their careers, but they feel they are trapped in their situation.

In the September/October 2007 issue of Today's Christian, Shirley Shaw tells the story of how the sacrifices of a successful cabinet maker named Terry Lane continue to change a drug-riddled neighborhood in Jacksonville, Florida. Terry shared his story:

My business had prospered to the point my 40-man staff needed more space to produce the quality cabinets for which Mid-Lane was well known. We found an ideal location in northwest Jacksonville and in 1985 built a 25,000 square foot state-of-the-art plant that was soon humming with activity. Life was good. But my peace and comfort were short lived.

Almost immediately, problems erupted. Every night the burglar alarm sounded, and I was summoned to the plant by police officers. Broken windows, shots fired, bullet holes in the walls, stolen equipment, vandalism—even incinerated cars in the parking lot.

One night an officer asked me, "What possessed you to build a plant this close to 'The Rock'?"

"What do you mean, 'The Rock'?" I asked.

"The Cleveland Arms apartments," he responded. "More crack cocaine is sold here than anywhere in Jacksonville, so we call it 'The Rock.'" And he proceeded to enlighten me about my new neighborhood. The 200-unit subsidized housing complex was occupied by drug dealers, prostitutes, and felons, a place considered so dangerous police were hesitant to go there.

As I sat mulling over the situation, from out of nowhere came a thought so clear it was almost audible: If you'll love those who despitefully use you, I'll take care of it. Stunned and shaken by God's admonition, I wondered how I'd obey this gentle command. Then I sensed him say, "Forget about all the shooting and all the garbage. Look at the children."

Days went by as I prayed for my neighbors and tried to figure out how to connect with this community. I bought several basketballs, wrote "Jesus loves you" and "Mr. Lane loves you" on them, and threw them over the fence into the complex. There was no immediate reaction, but at least they didn't throw them back.

Then one Saturday while working alone, I stepped outside for a break. I heard the noise of children playing beneath a tractor trailer parked on the property. When they saw me, one said, "There's the man," and they started running.

"Wait," I called. "Would you like something cold to drink?" Four or five little kids followed me into the plant where I opened the soft drink machine and gave them a cold soda pop. They went home, and I thought no more about it. Until Monday afternoon when I heard a commotion in the lobby and the receptionist ask, "Can I help you?"

As I walked down the hallway, I heard one little kid ask, "Where's the big man with the beard?" Turning the corner, I saw 16 kids in the lobby looking for me—well, for the man with the key to the drink machine.

That was the beginning. Suddenly, 35 children adopted me, coming to my office every afternoon after school instead of going home. There was nothing for them to go home to. Day after day, while I worked at my drafting table, I was surrounded by kids on the floor busily coloring or doing other crafts I had brought.

Thus began the journey that would change my world and that of many kids whose addicted parents left them to fend for themselves. Often hungry, unkempt, undisciplined, with no structure in their lives or motivation to attend school or church, these children would be the next lost generation. I felt compelled to do what I could. Years flew by, and the kids I mentored became a part of my life.

Terry Lane's journey of self-denial continued. Ten years after he first reached out to the kids of "The Rock," he sold his share of the cabinetmaking business to his partner and started Metro Inner City Sunday School. When the kids got older, they started youth groups and teen programs. It wasn't long before Terry asked the owner of Cleveland Arms to give him an apartment. In five-years' time, Lane established a community center called Metro Kids Connection where the staff feeds over 145 children physically, academically, and spiritually.

Shaw ends her article with these final thoughts from Terry:

There is so much to do, but I'm excited and grateful for the direction God chose for me. My wife and I have gone from enjoying a six-figure annual income to subsisting on $12,000 a year, but God faithfully meets every need. And the rewards are incomparable.

Nothing can replace the joy of having a little child crawl into my lap with a hug for "Pastor Terry," or for a young man who has been rescued from a potential life of dealing drugs to look me in the eye, shake my hand with a firm grip, and say, "Thanks, P.T."

That's my reward for "looking at the children." (7)

Maybe you want to make a difference with your career like Terry did. You want to do something wonderful in this world, but you can’t seem to have a breakout moment. God has a career for you that will meet your needs. God has a career for you that will bless your family and bring healing to thousands of lives. Will you dare to trust God with your career?

Broken Desires

Maybe you have had broken desires in your life. Throughout your life, you have desired various things, but your desires were never fulfilled. You have been brokenhearted and distraught because your desires were not met.

The Bible says this about our desires in Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

This verse means that God puts desires in our hearts as we put him first. As we draw close to God, his desires become our desires. God promises to bless us with the desires of our hearts when we put him first in our lives. The Bible also says this about our desires in Matthew 6:33: But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

This scripture says that if we put God first, we will be blessed. God will give us the desires of our hearts when we put him first. My question for you is this: Have you been putting God first in your life?

On October 2, 2004, 17-year-old Laura Hatch left a party in a Seattle suburb, and that was the last time she was seen for more than a week. No one knew why she didn't returned home later that night. No one knew she'd lost control of her car and careened down a steep forested ravine.

Laura's parents contacted the police and a search began. When a week went by without any leads, the Hatches organized a search team of 200 volunteers including members of Creekside Covenant Church in Redmond, Washington where the family attends.

When the extensive search failed to produce any results, family members began to assume the worst. "We had already given her up and let her be dead in our hearts," Laura's mother told the media.

Sha Nohr's daughter was one of Laura's friends. Norh, a Creekside Covenant Church member, told her distraught daughter that all they could do was pray. But Nohr had trouble sleeping that night. She kept having a recurring dream of a wooded area and heard the message, ''Keep going, keep going.'' The following morning, Sunday October 10, Nohr and her daughter drove to the area where the crash occurred, praying along the way.

''I just thought, 'Let her speak out to us,''' Nohr told the Seattle Times.

Nohr said something drew her to stop and clamber over a concrete barrier and more than 100 feet down a steep, densely vegetated embankment where she barely managed to discern the crumpled 1996 Toyota Camry. Nohr discovered Laura in the backseat, conscious, but seriously injured.

When the paramedics arrived, Laura was taken to Harborview Medical Center where she was treated for severe dehydration, a blood clot in her brain, broken ribs, a broken leg and facial lacerations. Amazingly, she had not had anything to eat or drink for eight days.

The miraculous rescue was announced later that night at Creekside Covenant Church, where more than 100 family and friends had gathered for a prayer vigil. The prayer service turned into a joyous celebration of praise when Nohr told the congregation how she had been led to the missing girl and that the lost had been found. (8)

In this missing persons story, all hope had been lost. And then God showed up and did something amazing. God can do the same for you. You may have given up on your dreams, but God is not done with you yet!

The Dream Restorer

Though you may have a broken dream, broken career, or broken desire, God is able to restore what the enemy has taken from you.

The Bible tells the story of a young man named Joseph who had a dream to be a great leader. Shortly after Joseph had this dream, he was sold into slavery by his own brothers. To make matters worse, he was wrongfully accused of a terrible crime and sent to prison.

After years in prison, Joseph was brought before the king of the land. Joseph interprets a dream for the king and becomes the second in command of the nation. In one day, Joseph went from prisoner to ruler. Later in Joseph’s story, he saves his family from starvation and preserves the people of God.

God restored Joseph’s dream. At the end of Joseph’s story, Joseph says the following in Genesis 50:20: You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.

You may be going through a rough time right now. Things may feel like they are falling apart. But hold on! God has a plan he wants to accomplish through you. He will even turn the difficult parts of your life around so that you can bring greater glory to God with your life.

The Bible says this in Romans 8:28: And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

This verse promises that God will turn the most difficult situations into something good if we will put him first in our lives.

As we put our trust in Christ, even our most difficult situations can be turned around for our good.

Chapter 3

Broken Bodies

Are you struggling with sickness and disease in your body? This is one of the main reasons why many people are brokenhearted.

They have struggled with sickness for so long that they feel there is no hope. They feel that they will never get better.

Have you been dealing with an ongoing sickness? Maybe you have got to the point where you have given up on physical health. You just feel that your physical health and well being is out of reach for you.

Broken Physically

Do you feel broken physically? Physical brokenness can cause many of life’s problems.

There was once a young man from Chicago who went down to the bluegrass regions of Kentucky where he met and wooed a young woman who ultimately came back to Chicago as his bride. They enjoyed three lovely years of marriage, and then one day in the midst of a sickness the young woman lost her mind. When she was at her best, she was a bit demented. At her worst, she would scream, and neighbors complained because the screams cut the air and it was hard to live with.

And so the young businessman left his home in the middle of Chicago, went out to one of the western suburbs, built a house, determined that there he would try to nurse his wife back to health and sanity again. One day the family physician suggested that perhaps if he were to take his wife back to her Kentucky home that something in those familiar surroundings would help her restore her sanity, and so they went back to the old homestead. Hand in hand they walked through the old house where memories hung on every corner. They went down to the garden and walked down by the riverside where the first cowslips and violets were in bloom. But after several days nothing seemed to happen.

So, defeated and discouraged, the young man put his wife back in the car, and they headed back to Chicago. When they got close to the house, he looked over and discovered that his wife was asleep. It was the first deep, restful sleep she had had in many weeks. When he got to the house, he lifted her from the car, took her inside, placed her on the bed, and realized she wanted to sleep some more. So he placed a cover over her and then just sat by her side and watched her through the midnight hour, watched her until the first rays of the sun reached through the curtain and touched her face. The young woman awoke, and she saw her husband seated by her side. She said, "I seem to have been on a long journey. Where have you been?" And that man, speaking out of days and weeks and months of patient waiting and watching said, "My sweetheart, I've been right here waiting for you all this time." (9)

Maybe you feel like the man in the story. You are waiting for your miracle. The truth is that God is wanting to perform a miracle in your life. He wants to do something amazing for your health. Your healing might not come over night, but God wants to bring healing and power to your physical body.

Will you trust that God wants to be your healer? Will you trust God even when you don’t feel well? God wants to minister to you and help you feel better than ever.

The Bible is full of scriptures that detail God’s promises on physical healing. One important promise is found in Isaiah 53:1-5:

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

This passage promises forgiveness for our sins as well as healing for our bodies. This is very important to realize. The blood of Jesus will cover all of our sins! It will also heal us of our physical ailments and diseases. No sickness is too small or too large for God to heal.

Muriel's childhood crippled her emotionally. She began visits to the hospital's psychiatric ward when she was in her teens. By her late forties, she'd seen dozens of counselors, therapists, and psychiatrists. She was on a cocktail of anti-this and anti-that medications so potent it could have subdued a blue whale. She had logged no fewer than 61 rounds of electric shock therapy. But nothing really helped.

The problem was what others had done to her: cruel, malicious things.

One day she walked into the office of a new therapist. Muriel was cynical. She had low expectations. The therapist heard her story, and simply asked a question: "How would your life have been different if someone had come alongside you when you were 14 and showed you your strengths instead of telling you that you were sick?"

"In all those years," she said, "I'd never considered that. And then I saw it: I wasn't stuck in my life as I knew it. My life could be otherwise. I decided there and then to live it otherwise. I changed my mind about who I was, which allowed me to change everything almost instantly." (10)

Like Muriel, you may have had many people in life who told you all of the things that were wrong with you. But God has a different plan for your life. He sees you as the amazing person he created you to be. And when you begin to see yourself and your situation through God’s eyes, things will dramatically change for you.

Another passage that covers the topic of physical healing is found in Matthew 8:14-17:

When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him. When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

It’s wonderful that Jesus saw Peter’s mom with a fever and healed her. This shows that he cares about all kinds of sickness, small and large. It’s also incredible that Jesus went throughout the neighborhood healing people. Jesus loved to heal people. He loved to help people with their infirmities. And the great truth is that Jesus is still the healer. He still wants to heal our bodies and make us feel new again.

For the past 25 years, Jim Cantore, The Weather Channel's "Storm-tracker," has tracked, chased, run into, and then reported on some of the most extreme storms on the planet. A 2011 USA Today article on Cantore noted, "Whether he is leaning into the ferocious winds of a hurricane or shivering as a blast of polar air drops down from the Arctic, Cantore, 47, is often on the scene to help viewers appreciate how weather tests us."

In the spring of 2011, Cantore provided coverage in the midst of the severe tornado outbreaks in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and Joplin, Missouri. Both towns suffered extensive damage. "It was as unthinkable as you would think," Cantore says. "Houses were piled up into corners, and the streets looked more like movie sets."

But according to Cantore, these kinds of storms pale in comparison to the personal storms of life that some people experience on a daily basis. In particular, Cantore thinks of his two children, both of whom were born with Fragile X syndrome, a genetic disorder that can lead to autism-like symptoms. Cantore says that his children have the real storms of life, or what he calls the "storms that hurt the most and never go away."

Cantore says, "What my children have to deal with on a daily basis is by far more difficult than anything I will ever come in contact with." (11)

Have the storms of life overtaken you lately? Has a storm of sickness and disease taken over your life? God wants to restore your health. He wants to make you feel better than you have ever felt before. His Word promises healing and health for those who follow him.

Broken Emotionally

Are you broken emotionally? Do you suffer from depression, loneliness, and emotional pain? Do you wonder if you will have joy again? Do you wonder if you will ever find happiness again?

In his spiritual memoir A Stranger in the House of God, author and Moody Bible Institute professor John Koessler tells the story of his younger brother George. Since childhood, George's life consisted of heartache after heartache: because of a collapsed lung shortly after birth, he struggled with a learning disability that made him the butt of far too many jokes—even from his own family; his first wife cheated on him after being married for less than a year; he was permanently laid off from the only job he knew how to do well at the time. As the pain snowballed, George hit rock bottom. Because he hadn't kept in touch with George, Koessler was unaware of what was going on in his brother's life. A literal wake-up call concerning George's condition came late one night. Koessler writes:

I awoke from a sound sleep with a sense of dread, compelled to pray for my brother. In particular, I felt impressed to ask God to spare his life. The longer I prayed, the more anxious I became, sensing George was in some kind of grave danger…

A week later I got a phone call from my father. My brother's roommate contacted him saying George had tried to commit suicide. Despondent over his life, he slit his wrists with a kitchen knife. "He really meant business," my father said. "If his roommate had come fifteen minutes later, it would have been too late"…

My brother's roommate discovered him about the same time I was asking God to spare George's life.

With the encouragement of family and friends, George partnered with God to put his life back together. He learned how to cope with his learning disability and overcame his depression with the help of medicine. He worked difficult, trying hours as an emergency medical technician in order to earn a college degree—which he earned with honors. All the while, he was taking the all-important steps toward a life of faith. After meeting his second wife, Jan, at a church function, George committed his life to Christ.

George's transformation stirred in him a deep desire to serve others spiritually. This man, weighed down for so long by such profound pain, would eventually become the chaplain for the Detroit Fire Department. Koessler closes the chapter concerning his brother with these words about George:

He doesn't regret the difficulties he has faced. He doesn't see them as unfortunate twists of fate or himself as a victim of circumstance. He sees them as tools wielded by the gracious hand of God. "Without them," he says, "I wouldn't be the person I am today."

George doesn't consider any of his accomplishments remarkable. "I'm just a survivor," he says. "I'm no hero." Perhaps not to others. Certainly not to himself. But he is to me. (12)

You may have a broken life with broken dreams just like George. But God wants to turn your situation around. He wants to bring you joy and fulfillment.

Millions of people go through life without joy or peace. They simply can’t find the peace, love, and joy they so badly want. They have tried everything they can think of, but nothing seems to bring them joy or satisfaction.

In October 2011, hall of fame basketball player Jerry West released a book called West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life. Instead of using this platform to catalogue his various achievements (of which there were many), West decided to write about his struggles with anxiety and depression. It turns out the man who earned the nickname "Mr. Clutch" because of his outstanding performances under pressure and who inspired the official NBA logo was also debilitated by such high levels of game-day tension that life became almost unbearable for him. One of his biographers, Roland Lazenby describes West's early days on the court:

As he gained more confidence and took on more responsibility, West became wracked by incredible game-day tension. He would become a pacing nervous animal each game day, with the tension building moment by moment until he was absolutely beside himself with anxiety over his coming performance. It was a condition that threatened to take down his legacy before it ever got started. "I've always been a nervous person," West admitted many times.

Like Jerry West, millions of people struggle with anxiety issues, and sometimes they're the people we assume would never struggle with anxiety (like a former basketball star nicknamed "Mr. Clutch"). So if you're secretly struggling with anxiety or depression, you certainly aren't alone. (13)

Maybe you feel like West. On the outside, everything looks great. You act like everything in your life is going good. But when you are all alone, you can’t shake the depression, loneliness, and sadness that plagues you on a daily basis.

The Bible says the following about peace in Philippians 4:4-8: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

God promised to give you peace of mind. As a Christian, God wants you to live a victorious life that is full of peace and joy. Though you may not be experiencing these blessings right now, God wants to get you to a place of victory.

As we put our minds on the promises of God, we find the peace we need. As we focus our attention on things that are positive and full of life, joy begins to rise in our hearts.

I realize that it is difficult to think positively when your health seems to be falling apart. But when we put our trust in God and choose thoughts based on God’s Word, wonderful things begin to happen.

Broken Spiritually

The worst brokenness we can experience is spiritual brokenness. Maybe you feel spiritually broken because of mistakes you made in the past. Maybe you really blew it, and you feel like God could never forgive you.

Maybe you promised God that you would not commit a certain sin, and you broke your promise. You committed the sin over and over again, and you feel horrible. You wonder if God still has a great plan for you life. You wonder if God still cares about you.

The truth is that Jesus is crazy about you! He loves you so much. Even though you have blown it, the Bible says this: in Lamentations 3:22-23: Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.

God’s mercy for your is new every morning! You might have blown it today. You might have done something you promised you would never do again. But God still promises that his mercies are new every morning. Everyday he wants to offer you his grace, love, and forgiveness. The question is this: Will you receive God’s forgiveness in your life?

Do not allow the enemy to make you feel condemned and unloved. God loves you with an everlasting love. You made a mistake. That does not make you a failure. Decide to get back up, dust yourself off, and continue doing your best to love God and obey him.

As a 17-year-old Anne Graham Lotz, the daughter of Billy and Ruth Graham, was involved in a car accident. Speeding carelessly down a windy mountain road, Anne smashed into her neighbor, Mrs. Pickering. Anne was too afraid to tell her father about the accident, so for the rest of the day she kept avoiding him. When she finally came home, she tried to tiptoe around her dad, but there he was, standing in the kitchen. Anne tells what happened next:

I paused for what seemed a very long moment frozen in time. Then I ran to him and threw my arms around his neck …. I told him about my wreck—how I'd driven too fast and smashed into the neighbor's car. I told him it wasn't her fault; it was all mine. As I wept on his shoulder, he said four things to me:

"Anne, I knew all along about your wreck. Mrs. Pickering came straight up the mountain and told me—and I was just waiting for you to come and tell me yourself."

"I love you."

"We can fix the car."

"You are going to be a better driver because of this."

Anne says, "Sooner or later, all of us are involved in some kind of wreck—it may be your own fault or someone else's. When the damage is your fault, there's a good chance you'll be confronted by the flashing blue lights of the morality police. But my father gave me a deeper understanding of what it means to experience the loving, forgiving embrace of my heavenly Father." (14)

We all need this from time to time. When we blow it big time, we need the forgiveness of our heavenly father. And like the father in the story, God is not mad at us. He wants to embrace us and give us a new start.

The Healer

Jesus is the healer that are bodies need. He wants to heal us of our physical brokenness, our emotional brokenness, and our spiritual brokenness. The question is this: Will we let him be our healer? Will we allow him to minister to us and show us his healing, peace, and forgiveness?

Jesus wants to be the healer you are looking for. He cares so much about you. He wants to transform your life. As you put your trust in him, you won’t be disappointed.

Chapter 4

Broken Relationships

Are your relationships broken? Do you wish you had fulfilling relationships but only find hurt and pain? Many of us avoid relationships because of past hurt and pain. Many of us are so tired of being hurt that we try to stay out of relationships.

God wants to bless your relationships. He wants you to have relationships that are life changing and powerful. He wants you to experience the blessing of close friends and family. But so many people in our society suffer from broken relationships.

Broken Marriages

Marriages are falling apart all around us. Maybe your marriage started out great. You and your spouse had a wonderful dating relationship; it felt like heaven on earth. Your spouse was everything to you. Then after a few years of marriage, your relationship seems to be falling apart.

Both of you have changed. You are not sure how it happened, but you and your spouse are miles apart from one another emotionally. Both of you have made efforts to heal your marriage, but your efforts have ended with arguments and frustration.

Germans sometimes use a culinary metaphor for marriage, comparing the lifelong journey of marriage to a formal French or German dinner menu—except the courses are served in reverse order.

According to this analogy, marriage actually begins with the last course—dessert. There's a season of sweetness. But, sadly, the sweetness doesn't always last. Temptations and distractions often follow this dessert, like the honeymoon phase. In a formal French dinner, the second course includes a selection of cheeses. At times there are so many cheese selections that diners get focused on flirting from one plate to the next. The third course consists of a beautifully prepared salad that adds freshness and vitamins to the meal. The fourth and main dish is the red meat course, the long, substantial, satisfying and nutritious body of any good dinner or marriage. The fifth course consists of a light fish or seafood dish that can be fraught with dangerous bones. Finally, the menu of a marriage ends with an enjoyable tray of hors d'oeuvres. After decades of commitment, mastering all the earlier courses of marriage, a husband and wife are rewarded with the delight of remaining committed throughout the entire journey of life. (15)

This is God’s design for our marriage. He wants us to enjoy a beautiful marriage that lasts a lifetime. But unfortunately, many marriages never make it past the first course. Once the “honeymoon” stage is over, many couples wonder what is wrong with their relationship.

Do you feel that your marriage is falling apart? Do you feel like your marriage is not going to make it? Don’t give up. God wants to help you. He wants to help you turn your marriage around. God’s Word says this in Ephesians 5:21-31: Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ does the church— for we are members of his body. “For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh.

God wants our marriages to honor him. He wants lasting relationships where we submit to one another out of love for God and love for each other. Through Christ, we can find the strength to love when we don’t feel like it. Through Christ, we can become one with our spouse and enjoy the wonder of a loving marriage relationship.

Broken Families

We are living in a day and age where family is not considered valuable. Many adults do not make time for family. They do not spend quality time with their spouses or children. So many children grow up distanced form their parents. They grow up with many social and emotional problems because they do not have a connection with a loving family.

God desires us to have incredible families. The family unit can be a powerful way to teach our children Christian values. The family unit can be a powerful way to raise up the next generation of movers and shakers. If we realized the power contained in the family, we would do everything we could to ensure success in our family.

In July 1995 the city of Chicago experienced a heat wave that gripped the city for over a week. On July 13th, the heat peaked at 106 degrees. During the week of intense heat, Chicago had turned into an "urban heat island." Most of the city's brick and mortar buildings, along with all the concrete and asphalt streets, absorbed tremendous amounts of heat during the day and released hardly any of this heat overnight. Apartments in the city became ovens.

Then-Mayor Richard M. Daley offered common sense, and stated the obvious. "It's hot. It's hot out there. We all walk out there. It's very, very, very hot," he said. But the heat continued, becoming not just a nuisance but a full-fledged killer. The Cook County Morgue started overflowing with bodies and refrigerator trucks had to be brought in to store the dead. Workers averaged 13 autopsies an hour, but the bodies kept coming. In the end, the heat wave was blamed for 739 deaths.

How did so many people die in a heat wave? When people started to review the official reports and files about those who died, they found a consistent theme: social isolation. The people who died were often elderly and living alone.

In contrast, four years later in 1999, Chicago experienced another heat wave, this one slightly less severe than the 1995 heat wave. By this time, people had stopped denying that heat presented a problem for people living alone. The city responded aggressively to ensure the safety of its residents with strongly-worded warnings, and city workers went door-to-door to check on seniors and other vulnerable people and kept cooling centers open. Due to these outreach efforts only 125 people died in the '99 heat wave. (16)

This story shows what happens when people are isolated from others. They become targets for horrible things to happen. God does not want us to become a target. God does not want our spouse to become a target. God does not want our children to become targets. But this is exactly what happens when we fail to make family a major priority in our lives. We become targets of the enemy, and our family members become targets.

God desires us to have families that put Christ first. God desires that we spend quality time together as a family. The Bible says this in Deuteronomy 11:18-21: Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the Lord swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.

This passage shows us that the family is the primary place where God wants us to share his Word. We can teach our children principles from the Word of God and see their lives transformed.

Broken Friendships

The Bible says the following about friendship in Proverbs 17:17: A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of adversity.

Many of us think about this verse and become discouraged. We can think of very few people who embody this verse in our lives. We want great friendships, but our friends have let us down.

God wants us to have incredible friends. He wants us to blessed with friendships that last a lifetime. But very few of us ever reach this status in life. The Bible says the following in Proverbs 20:6: Many claim to have unfailing love, but a faithful person who can find?

It is hard to find faithful friends, but God wants to bless us with friendships that are life changing.

More than 37,000 runners competed in the 2012 London Marathon. Wilson Kipsang, from Kenya, won the race in an impressive 2:04:44. Simone Clarke took more than three times as long, but her finish may be more impressive.

Simone is a 39 year old epileptic. Simone suffers about four seizures a day, and needed someone willing to train and run with her. Her friend, Tally Hall, agreed to run the marathon with her and help her if she had a seizure while running. But none of their training runs prepared them for what was to come.

On the beautiful spring morning of the London Marathon, Simone and Tally joined the tens of thousands at the starting point, and took off as the gun sounded. For the first seven miles, everything went well.

It was at mile eight that pain from an ongoing stomach problem triggered Simone's first seizure. Tally caught Simone and got her safely to the ground. Simone was completely unconscious for 30 seconds before Tally could rouse her.

And then, remarkably, Simone woke, got up, and started running again.

Over the next 18 miles, Simone had 19 more seizures, each time collapsing and losing consciousness for 30 seconds or more. Each time, Tally caught her, eased her to the ground, and protected her until she regained consciousness. And each time, Tally helped Simone up, and they continued.

'By the time we got to 15 miles," Simone said afterward, "I was in tears because I was so annoyed we had lost the pace. But by that stage I had already had lots of (seizures), and I was still standing, so I thought, stuff it, I'm just going to finish it."

Simone and Tally crossed the finish line in 6½ hours. Considering the day, it was a time even the Kenyans would be proud of. (17)

Maybe you desire the kind of friendship that this runner experienced. You may feel that this level of commitment is out of reach, but don’t be discouraged. This is the kind of friendship that God wants to bless you with.

Mended Relationships

God wants to mend your relationships. He wants to take you to a new level in your marriage, family, and friendships. It’s important that you begin to meditate on God’s promises. As you focus on God’s Word, your faith will become larger and you will begin to experience the healing in your relationships that you have always desired.

Chapter 5

Broken Finances

Many people are brokenhearted because of their finances. At one time, they felt that they would be financially secure, but as time passed they realized they were slaves to debt.

God does not want us to be in debt. He does not want us to have to make all of our decisions based on money. Unfortunately, many of us have become slaves to money. We do not know how to break free from our debt.

Too Much Debt

Many of us have more debt than we can imagine. We did not intend to get in this much debt. One situation lead to another, and one day we wake up with thousands of dollars in debt. We do not know how to break out of this financial trap.

If you happened to win the lottery, your financial situation would improve, right? Actually, according to a recent study, the answer is maybe not. Three economics professors wrote a paper titled "The Ticket to Easy Street? The Financial Consequences of Winning the Lottery." Their research tried to address the following questions: Does a lottery windfall have a permanent impact or does it merely postpone financial pain? Does getting a "boatload of money" solve people's financial problems or just push those problems down the road?

The professors obtained a list of winners for a Florida lotto game called Fantasy Five. Then they compared those names to Florida bankruptcy records to see how many winners filed for bankruptcy and when. In the first couple of years after winning a jackpot, people who won small amounts were more likely to file bankruptcy than people who won larger amounts. That makes sense. Someone with a large amount of money can initially weather a bad time or keep creditors at bay.

But after three years, large lottery winners were more likely to file for bankruptcy than small winners. The people who won larger sums did not use their new wealth to pay down debt. Financial consultant Don McNay concludes, "Winning the lottery did not help people increase their net worth. They needed to have set goals and an understanding of finance to make their lives better. It appears that [the lottery winners] did not have those fundamental tools." (18)

This story shows the great spiritual problem we have with money. No matter how much money we have, we will run out if we don’t learn to live a disciplined life. God desires that we be disciplined in our finances. He wants us to have more than enough finances to provide for us and the ones we love and care for. But this will not be possible if we do not understand God’s principles on money.

In 1850, Abraham Lincoln's step-brother, John D. Johnston, wrote to him and asked, yet again, for a loan so he could settle some debts. On previous occasions Lincoln simply gave Johnston the money. But this time Lincoln responded with a "tough love" letter that included a helpful proposal.

Dear Johnston:

Your request for eighty dollars I do not think it best to comply with now. At the various times when I have helped you a little you have said to me, "We can get along very well now"; but in a very short time I find you in the same difficulty again. Now, this can only happen by some defect in your conduct. What that defect is, I think I know. You are not lazy, and still you are an idler. I doubt whether, since I saw you, you have done a good whole day's work in any one day…. This habit of uselessly wasting time is the whole difficulty; it is vastly important to you, and still more so to your children, that you should break the habit ….

You are now in need of some money; and what I propose is, that you shall go to work, "tooth and nail," for somebody who will give you money for it …. and, to secure you a fair reward for your labor, I now promise you, that for every dollar you will, between this and the first of May, get for your own labor … I will then give you one other dollar …. Now, if you will do this, you will be soon out of debt, and, what is better, you will have a habit that will keep you from getting in debt again. But, if I should now clear you out of debt, next year you would be just as deep in as ever.

Affectionately your brother,

A. Lincoln (19)

The tough love Lincoln gave his stepbrother is good advice for us today. We need to learn some principles about money to help us be successful. We need to learn to be disciplined so we can have the success that we long for.

Too Much Spending

God wants us to live within our means. Many people around the world live outside of their means. To compensate for their spending problem, they borrow money and go into large amounts of debt. The Bible says this in Galatians 5:22-23: But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

This passage says that God has given us self control. Through the Holy Spirit, we have the power to say “no” to spending and begin to make progress in our finances.

A December, 2010 article in Newsweek argues that after a brief period of cutting back Americans are starting to spend again—whether they can afford it or not. Some experts call it "frugality fatigue"—in other words, we're weary of cutting back, and we're ready to splurge again. The authors argue, "The truth is that spending may be hard to contain. Entire generations of consumers have grown up with the idea of instant gratification and the credit culture that comes with it." These are some of the key statistics from the article:

American households have pared their debt (from $12.5 trillion in 2008 to $11.6 trillion in September of 2010), but most of that came from home foreclosures and defaults on credit cards.

From the start of the recession, we have continued to increase our spending in the following expense categories: Telephone equipment (up 16.6 percent), pet expenses (up 14.4 percent), and child care (up 12.8 percent).

Although 89 percent of Americans say they're watching their expenditures, spending has increased anyway.

More tellingly, the authors include two stories that epitomize our runaway spending. First, Maria Diaz, a 30-year-old waitress who was forced to move in with her mother, said, "I keep waiting for things to get better, and they just don't. After awhile I just decided, 'Forget it. I need some new clothes. I'm going to get them.' My mama's not happy, but I don't care. You stop spending, and you stop living."

Then there's the story of Harry Dugan, a 50-year-old respiratory therapist from New Jersey. Although he's "underwater" on his mortgage and he tried to curtail his expenses, he recently "had a bit of a relapse": he purchased a $900 television and a $21,000 car. "It was an impulse buy," he confessed. "If I could go back, I'd get something cheaper."

The article concludes with a warning: "Yes, spending is great fun, until the bill arrives. That's a lesson we've learned the hard way. Or maybe we haven't." (20)

This shows us the problem with our spending. Spending money is exciting until we realize we are out of money. This causes us to go into more and more debt. God wants to give us self control so we can obey him in the area of money. He wants us to win in the area of finances.

Too Little Savings

Whenever we allow ourselves to spend with no restraint, we end up with no savings. Without savings, we go into debt any time we have some kind of emergency. Unfortunately, this is a never ending game. We spend money and then we go into debt. God wants us to break out of this cycle. He wants us to have success in our finances and save money like never before.

John Ortberg tells the following story about debt forgiveness:

In May 2009, my family was in Azusa, California, because one of our kids was graduating from Azusa Pacific University. My wife, Nancy, was going to speak at the commencement ceremonies, so she and I were invited to a special gathering of about 50 people—people from the graduating class of 50 years ago and a few faculty members. During the gathering, John Wallace, the president of APU, brought out three students who were graduating that year and told us that for the next two years, they were going to serve the poorest of the poor in India.

These three students thought they were there just to be commissioned and sent out with a blessing—which they were. But then something happened that they did not know was coming. John turned to them and said, "I have a piece of news for you. There's somebody you do not know—an anonymous donor—who is so moved by what you're doing that he has given a gift to this university in your name, on your behalf."

John turned to the first student and said, "You are forgiven your debt of $105,000." The kid immediately starts to cry. John turns to the next student: "You're forgiven your debt of $70,000." He then turns to the third student: "You are forgiven your debt of $130,000." All three students had no idea this was coming. They were just ambushed by grace—blown away that somebody they don't even know would pay their debt. The whole room was in tears. (21)

When we begin to do things God’s way, these types of things can happen in our lives. You may feel like you are under a huge mountain of debt that will never be lifted from your shoulders. But the truth is this: If you will start following God’s principles with money, you will see miracles in your finances. You will see wonderful things happen.

Financial Victory

God wants you to have victory in your finances. He wants to do amazing things in you and through you. Will you begin to take steps toward financial victory? Why don’t you begin to ask Jesus to give you self control so you can walk in obedience to his financial principles.

God promises to help us when we cry out to him. Don’t let guilt from your past financial mistakes keep you from asking Jesus for help. He longs to help you. You cannot allow condemnation to hold you back from your future. The Bible says this in Romans 8:1: There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.

When the enemy tries to make you feel condemned about your past, you must remember God’s promises to you. God loves you so much, and he wants you to move forward with the future he has for you.

When you make a mistake, confess your sin to God and then move forward. Allow God’s grace to cover you mistakes, and then keep doing what God has called you to do. The Bible says this in 1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

When you fail, you are not a failure. You simply need to get back up and keep doing what God wants you to do. He is there to support you and strengthen you. He really is crazy about you!

Chapter 6

Find Your Healing

At this point in our journey, it is time to start focusing on the healing process. God wants to bring healing to your broken heart. He wants to bring healing to every part of your life.

Maybe you feel like healing is not an option for you, but God wants you to be healed. He wants you to be whole. He wants you to be successful. You may feel that your healing is impossible, but it is not. God has an amazing plan for you!

Turn To Jesus

Our healing begins when we turn to Jesus. The Bible says this in 1 Peter 5:7: Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.

This verse says that we are not meant to walk around in fear and anxiety. God does not want us to take care of our problems on our own. He wants to be the one to solve our problems. This scripture says that we can throw all of our cares at the feet of Jesus. When we do this, we make ourselves candidates for God’s power and help.

The bible also says this in Matthew 6:25-34: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In other words, God does not want us to spend our days in worry and fear. He teaches us to put him first and everything else will come into place.

So, my question for you is this. Are you putting God first in your life?

Put Jesus First

Putting God first means drawing close to him and allowing him to take care of your problems. The best way we can put God first is to spend daily time with God. If you do not spend daily quality time with God, you are missing out on a huge bless in your life.

Spending daily time with God does not have to be laborious or ritualistic. It just needs to be heartfelt and authentic. Two activities that you can focus on in your daily time with God is prayer and Bible reading.

Prayer does not have to be rigid. Think of prayer as simply a conversation with God. We have conversations with other people all of the time. Rarely do we worry about finding the right words or saying things exactly right. We shouldn’t worry about finding the right words when we approach prayer either. We should simply treat God like a father. He longs to have conversation with us. Our prayer time should simply be a time of interacting with our heavenly father. We should tell God about how our day went. We should tell God about our concerns. We should tell God about things we are excited about. And then we should be quiet and allow God to speak to our hearts. The Bible says this in Romans 8:14:  For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

God wants to lead us and guide us by his Holy Spirit. As we spend daily time with God, we give him a chance to speak to us through his Spirit. He has wonderful things he wants to put in our hearts.

On May 26, 2013 at 4:30 A.M. the Jascon 4, one of three tugboats towing an oil freighter off the coast of Nigeria, started to sink. Harrison Odjegba Okene, the tugboat's 29-year-old cook, immediately knew something was wrong. As the vessel descended 100 feet to the floor of the Atlantic Ocean pitched upside down, Okene was tossed to and fro in his small quarters. He groped his way in the pitch darkness through the icy waters, finally finding a cabin with a four foot air pocket. He made a make-shift platform and stacked two mattresses together in his attempt to escape the rising water.

Dressed only in his boxer shorts, Okene sat on the mattresses and waited for help. But the thought of being rescued seemed remote. So Okene, a follower of Jesus, started to pray the Psalms: "Oh, God, by your name, save me," and "The Lord sustains my life." Okene told reporters, "I started calling on the name of God …. reminiscing on the verses I read before I slept. I read the Bible from Psalms 54 to 92. My wife had sent me the verses to read that night when she called me before I went to bed."

Two-and-a-half days later, Okene was certain the rest of the eleven man crew had drowned and that he would also drown. Then he heard the sound of rescuers and started banging on the steel walls of his cabin with a hammer. The Dutch divers who found him couldn't believe their eyes. As they reached out for a hand of a man they assumed was dead, the hand grabbed theirs.

To this day, Okene believes his rescue after 72 hours underwater was the result of divine deliverance. He told a Nigerian newspaper, "The rest of my life is not enough to thank God for this wonder. It is incredible." (22)

As this man put God first through prayer and Bible reading, his actions preserved his life. He was able to hold on to his faith that God would deliver him.

Are you going through an impossible situation? Are you facing something that seems insurmountable? God wants to help you. He wants to strengthen you. He wants to bless you. But healing starts when we put God first. Healing starts when we begin to spend time with God on a regular basis.

Another important key to putting God first is spending time reading the Bible. There are many technological as well as traditional methods of reading the Bible. There are also many modern and traditional translations of the Bible. The key is simply finding a method that works best for you. Go online and tryout some of the various kinds of Bibles. Find a Bible that works best for you. Also look for a Bible reading plan that makes sense to you. It does not have to be elaborate or extensive. Just find a simple plan to help you begin reading a little bit of the Bible each day.

Remember quality is more important than quantity. You don’t have to read tons of chapters every day. Just read one or two and then think about how the passage applies to your life. You may even buy a journal and write down your thoughts as you read the Bible. This is a great way to remember what you have learned. It is also a great way to keep track of how your growth spiritually.

Gordon McDonald wrote the following on Bible study:

In the fall of 1956, I began my final year at the Stony Brook School, then a boys' college preparatory school in New York. Among the required courses that last year was Senior Bible, taught by the school's headmaster, Dr. Frank E. Gaebelein, a man who required us to memorize 300 verses of Scripture over the course of that year. If he met a student on the pathway from the class room to the dining hall, he might say, "Gordon, give me John 13:34 please." He expected us to recite the verse from memory without faltering.

One of the passages he tasked us to memorize was Psalm 46. For days we memorized, recited, memorized, recited until the Psalm 46 was part of us. "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble period. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea…."

In the spring of 1957, Senior Bible ended. We put our index cards away, graduated from Stony Brook, and went off to college. Occasionally, I returned to Psalm 46. As a pastor I preached on it a few times.

Now 56 years have passed. A few days ago my doctor called me. "Gordon, I have some difficult news for you. There's a tumor in the back of your head in the lining of the brain. It is not malignant, but it will have to come out." I have spent my whole life helping other people face doctor-call moments like these. Now it was my turn and the very first thing that began to surge through my mind was: "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble period. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed…."

When I was a teenager, a brilliant and godly man pumped my friends and me full of Scripture. But now his effort is paying off. Thanks to Dr. Gaebelein and Psalm 46, I may be concerned and cautious, but I am not inclined to be fearful. (23)

God’s Word will be our comfort when we are in trouble. God’s Word will minister to us when we are facing hard times. For God’s Word to become real to our hearts, we need to do as Gordon McDonald did. We need to memorize scripture.

Are you struggling in some area of your life? Do an online search on scriptures that deal with your problem. Fill your mind and heart with scriptures that deal with whatever problem you are facing.

Then take it to the next level. Begin to speak those scriptures out loud. The Bible teaches us that when we speak God’s Word out loud powerful things happen. The Bible says the following things about confessing God’s Word:

Joshua 1:8, Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.

Proverbs 18:21, The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.

These scriptures emphasize the importance of speaking God’s Word. When we speak God’s Word with our mouths, powerful and wonderful things happen. We begin to experience victory like never before.

Find Real Power

The key to victory in the Christian life is receiving power from God to do what he wants us to do. Many times we have a desire to obey God, but we fail because we don’t have the power to do what God wants us to do. God sent his Holy Spirit to us so that we could find the power we need to overcome in life. The Bible says the following things about the Holy Spirit:

Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Romans 8:14-16, For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.

Romans 8:26-27, In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

The Holy Spirit gives us power to overcome our weaknesses. In our own human strength, we cannot overcome. But through the power of the Holy Spirit, we can accomplish God’s plan for our lives.

On February 10, 2013, a fire broke out in an engine room of the Carnival cruise ship, Triumph. The fire knocked out the ship's power, leaving the vessel drifting in Gulf of Mexico currents. The more than 4,200 passengers and crew were left in limbo. The lost power made it impossible to operate the flush toilets, keep cool in the un-shaded waters of the deep sea, and preserve and cook all the perishable food on board. Passengers reported long lines for food, shortages of fresh water, illnesses, and widespread boredom. Many passengers slept in hallways or outside to escape the odors and heat below decks.

The ship finally ported safely in Mobile, Alabama on February 14, 2013 at 9:00 P.M. News crews riding in helicopters followed the ship, and watched passengers beg for help. The ship's loss of power wasn't just a tragedy for the passengers. Carnival expected to lose hundreds of millions of dollars due to this incident.

Apparently, Carnival learned their lesson. In June 2013 Triumph set sail once again, but this time it was outfitted with new emergency power capabilities. Carnival knows that when the power goes out, the party is over. (24)

This story shows what happens when we don’t have power. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are like this cruise ship. We will be ineffective in our lives.

Renew Your Mind

The next step in your healing process is renewing your mind with the Word of God. The Bible says this:

Romans 12:1-2, Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

2 Corinthians 10:3-5, For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ. These scriptures describe specifics on renewing our minds.

The first step to renewing our minds is spending time in God’s Word. As we spend time reading and meditating on God’s Word, we begin to find freedom and help. This step also involves memorizing scripture. Memorizing scripture is crucial to finding healing for our broken heart. God’s Word will change our circumstances and impact every part of our lives.

We must also learn to “take captive” every negative thought that comes into our mind. This is such an important concept that so many Christians neglect.

Many Christians wonder why they can’t overcome certain areas in their lives. They do everything they can but they can’t beat whatever circumstance they are facing. Maybe their problem is lust, over spending, anxiety, or depression. These are all big problems, but we will never solve them with our own determination and strength. We need the help of the Word of God.

When the thoughts of lust, depression, anxiety, or loneliness come to our minds, we must reject these thoughts in the name of Jesus. We must then put our mind on a scripture from the Bible.

Again, when negative thoughts come, make sure you “take them captive.” Don’t allow those negative thoughts to stay in your mind. Resist them in the name of Jesus. Then begin to think and speak the Word of God out loud. When you do this, you will be surprised how quickly victory comes to you.

Max Lucado tells the following story:

A Chinese man named Li Fuyan had tried every treatment imaginable to ease his throbbing headaches. Nothing helped. An X-ray finally revealed the culprit. A rusty four-inch knife blade had been lodged in his skull for four years. In an attack by a robber, Fuyan had suffered lacerations on the right side of his jaw. He didn't know the blade had broken off inside his head. No wonder he suffered from such stabbing pain.

Lucado comments:

We can't live with foreign objects buried in our bodies. Or our souls. What would an X-ray of your interior reveal? Regrets over an [earlier] relationship? Remorse over a poor choice? Shame about the marriage that didn't work, the habit you couldn't quit, the temptation you didn't resist, or the courage you couldn't find? Guilt lies hidden beneath the surface, festering, irritating. Sometimes so deeply embedded you don't know the cause. (25)

The same is true when it comes to our thoughts. We cannot hang on to negative thinking. We must replace negative thoughts with the Word of God. When we renew our minds in this way, we will see wonderful results.

A Healing Process

As you engage in the activities outlined in this chapter, you will begin to find the healing you have always dreamed about. Your healing will most likely not happen over night, but as you continually renew your mind with God’s Word you will see incredible things happen.

Don’t allow yourself to get discouraged through this process. As you move forward, remember that God is with you. He wants to help you attain the victory you have always wanted.

Chapter 7

Find Hope

As you begin your healing process, you will begin to feel more hopeful. As we renew our minds with God’s Word and put God first through prayer and Bible reading, we will naturally begin to find new hope for our lives.

God’s Word will provide the hope you need to believe for the future you have always dreamed of. God has something amazing for you. His Word says this in Ephesians 3:20: Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us.

This verse says that God is able to do more than we can imagine or dream. Are you ready to experience God’s best for your life? When you started your healing process, you started on a journey towards success.

Your Future

God’s plans for you are so amazing. You will be blown away by what God wants to do in your life. The Bible says this in Jeremiah 29:11: For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

God’s plans for you are so good. When you follow after God by putting him first in your life, you make yourself a candidate for his blessings and success.

In 1911, Roald Amundsen became the first person to lead a successful expedition to the South Pole. Amundsen was also famous for his incredible commitment to prepare for this expedition. While in his late twenties, Roald Amundsen traveled from Norway to Spain for a two-month sailing trip to earn a master's certificate. It was 1899. He had a nearly two-thousand-mile journey ahead of him. And how did Amundsen make the journey? By carriage? By horse? By ship? By rail? He bicycled.

Amundsen then experimented with eating raw dolphin meat to determine its usefulness as an energy supply. After all, he reasoned, someday he might be shipwrecked, finding himself surrounded by dolphins, so he might as well know if he could eat one.

It was all part of Amundsen's years of building a foundation for his quest, training his body and learning as much as possible from practical experience about what actually worked. Amundsen even made a pilgrimage to apprentice with Eskimos. What better way to learn what worked in polar conditions than to spend time with a people who have hundreds of years of accumulated experience in ice and cold and snow and wind? He learned how Eskimos used dogs to pull sleds. He observed how Eskimos never hurried, moving slowly and steadily, avoiding excessive sweat that could turn to ice in sub-zero temperatures. He adopted Eskimo clothing, loose fitting (to help sweat evaporate) and protective. He systematically practiced Eskimo methods and trained himself for every conceivable situation he might encounter en route to the Pole.

Amundsen's philosophy: You don't wait until you're in an unexpected storm to discover that you need more strength and endurance. You don't wait until you're shipwrecked to determine if you can eat raw dolphin. You don't wait until you're on the Antarctic journey to become a superb skier and dog handler. You prepare with intensity, all the time, so that when conditions turn against you, you can draw from a deep reservoir of strength. And equally, you prepare so that when conditions turn in your favor, you can strike hard. (26)

God had plans for your life before you were ever born. He planned for you to be here right now in this moment. He has stunning plans for your life. He has worked out every detail. He wants to bless you and not harm you. He wants you to be successful and prosperous.

You must allow God to help you dream again. You may have been disappointed in the past, but God wants to do something incredible in your life. Will you dare to trust God and follow his leadings in your life? He wants to expand your life like never before.

But you will need to cooperate with God. You will need to dare to believe that God wants to do amazing things in your life. You will need to allow God to help you to dream big dreams. God has huge dreams for you life. Believe that God will make your dreams come true!

Your Desires

God promised to give us the desires of our hearts. When we put God first in our lives, we can be confident that God will bless us with the desires of our hearts. As you draw closer to God, he will put his desires in your hearts. His desires for you are amazing.

Kyle Idleman says the following:

Imagine you're out for a hike on a beautiful spring day and you come to a creek. But there's something wrong with this picture. You notice that someone has dumped trash into the stream—an ugly sight. Judging by some of the empty soda cans, the trash has been there awhile. And there is an ugly film on top of the water. You can't just leave the scene as you found it, because it would bother your conscience. So you stoop down and begin gathering the trash.

It actually takes several hours before you can begin to see a difference; it's amazing how much junk is there. You sit back, rest for a moment, and realize you'll have to keep returning each day until the site is truly clean. But when you come back the next day, it's as if your work has been undone.

In fact there's more trash than before. Somehow the garbage bred overnight. You think about the unlikelihood of someone coming to this very spot to dump their garbage in the few hours while you were away, and you realize that something smells fishy—so to speak. So you begin to follow the creek upstream.

Sure enough, you come to a garbage dump that has been there for years. It's emptying into the passing creek. Your cleaning job only opened up a gap for more stuff to settle. You could go and clean every day …. If you want your creek to be clean, that means going directly to the source and dealing with what's there. (27)

In the same way, we must deal with the source of our desires: our hearts. When we set our hearts on God, he puts his desires in our hearts. We can trust these desires because we are doing our best to honor God with our lives. God’s desires for our lives are better than any desires we can conceive on our own.

Your Dreams

As you continue in your healing process, God will help you to dream bigger than you have ever dreamed before. It’s so important that you cooperate with God in this area of your life. God has more for you than you can imagine. But you must trust him to do amazing things in your life.

David Burnham was an American architect who developed the master plans for a number of cities including Chicago and downtown Washington D.C. He also designed several famous buildings in New York City and Washington D.C. During his career Burnham said:

Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood and probably themselves will not be realized. Make big plans. Aim high in hope and work, remembering that a noble, logical diagram once recorded will never die, but long after we are gone will be a living thing, asserting itself with ever-growing insistency. Remember that our [children] and [grandchildren] are going to do things that would stagger us. (28)

This is incredible, godly advice. Make huge plans. Believe that God is more than able to help you to reach your dreams. You should spend time every day dreaming about what God could do in your life. Dream about your health. Dream about your family. Dream about your marriage. Dream about your finances. Dream about your career. Remember that God is able to do more than you can dream or imagine.

In their book, The Leadership Challenge, James Kouzes and Barry Posner write, "Every organization, every social movement, begins with a dream. The dream or vision is the force that invents the future." The following corporate vision statements represent some of the dreams for various Fortune 500 companies.

Avon: "To be the company that best understands and satisfies the product, service, and self-fulfillment needs of women—globally."

Amazon: "To be earth's most customer-centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online."

Harley Davidson: "To fulfill dreams through the experiences of motorcycling."

Starbucks: "To share great coffee with our friends and help make the world a little better."

Hilton: "To fill the earth with the light and warmth of hospitality."

J.C. Penny: "To be America's shopping destination for discovering great styles at compelling prices."

CVS Caremark: "To improve the quality of human life."

Johnson & Johnson: (for a department that designs & manufactures orthopedic implants) "Restoring the joy of motion"

Kraft Foods: "To make today delicious."

Toys 'R' Us: "To put joy in kids' hearts and a smile on parents' faces."

Weyerhaeuser Company: "To release the potential in trees to solve important problems for people and the planet." (29)

Have you ever written out a vision statement for you life? If you never have, this is a great time to do it. Ask God to help you to dream big. Then in one to two sentences write out what your goal for life is. Write this down and put it where you will see it frequently.

Also, remember that you dream will impact not just you but many people around you and throughout the world. Many people think that dreaming big is selfish. But this is not true. You must remember that your God given dream will impact thousands of people around you. It is vitally important that you discover your God given dream and reach the levels of success that God has intended for you to reach.

The following story about Marco Polo shows us the importance of a God given dream:

His Italian mother named him after the gospel writer Mark in the hopes that he too would tell the gospel truth. But 13th Century Europeans found it impossible to believe Mark's tales of faraway lands. He claimed that, when he was only seventeen, he took an epic journey lasting a quarter of a century, taking him across the steppes of Russia, the rugged mountains of Afghanistan, the wastelands of Persia, and over the top of the world through the Himalayas. He was the first European to enter China. Through an amazing set of circumstances, he became a favorite of the most powerful ruler on planet earth, the Kublai Khan. Mark saw cities that made European capitals look like roadside villages. The Khan's palace dwarfed the largest castles and cathedrals in Europe. It was so massive that its banquet room alone could seat 6,000 diners at one time, each eating on a plate of pure gold.

Mark saw the world's first paper money and marveled at the explosive power of gunpowder. It would be the 18th Century before Europe would manufacture as much steel as China was producing in the year 1267. He became the first Italian to taste that Chinese culinary invention, pasta. As an officer of the Khan's court, he travelled to places no European would see for another 500 years.

After serving Kublai Khan for 17 years, Mark began his journey home to Venice, loaded down with gold, silk, and spices. When he arrived home, people dismissed his stories of a mythical place called China. His family priest rebuked him for spinning lies. At his deathbed, his family, friends, and priest begged him to recant his tales of China. But setting his jaw and gasping for breath, Mark spoke his final words, "I have not even told you half of what I saw."

Though 13th Century Europeans rejected his stories as the tales of a liar or lunatic, history has proven the truthfulness behind the book he wrote about his adventures—The Travels of Marco Polo. (30)

When you dream big, others around you may not like this new you. They may want to hold you back just like people tried to hold back Marco Polo. But don’t allow these people to hold you back. Press forward and allow God to put his amazing dreams in your heart.

In August of 2006, Fox News featured a television special titled, "Can Rick Warren Change the World?" Throughout the show, reporters interviewed Warren concerning The Purpose Driven Life, his ministry at Saddleback Church, and his leadership in the church growth movement.

They also spotlighted his attempts to move beyond the boundaries of this country and use a global network of churches to revolutionize the way we tackle what he believes are the five biggest problems facing the world today: poverty, disease, illiteracy, spiritual emptiness, and egocentric leadership. At the time of the interview, Warren was getting ready to implement his P.E.A.C.E. plan in the war-torn nation of Rwanda.

As the interview progressed, a nagging question seemed to taint the ambitious pastor's hopes and plans: Can it really work? Can one man—or one church, or one network, or one nation—really heal all of the hurts of the world?

Warren was not ignorant of the presence of this question, however, nor did he shy away from answering it. At the very end of the interview, he identified the four words that he would like written on his tombstone: "At least he tried." (31)

Rick Warren is right. When we get to the end of our lives, we want to know that we at least tried to do something great for God. When we pursue our God given dreams, God will meet us in a powerful way.

Your Joy

God wants to fill you will joy to overflowing. So many people walk through life down and out. They cannot find the peace and joy they are looking for. They want so badly to experience real joy in life. The Bible says the following about joy in Nehemiah 8:10:

Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

God’s joy can be our strength in life. God’s joy can revolutionize our life. And God’s joy is not based on our circumstances. It is based on our trust in God. No matter what we face in life, we can experience real joy. We can choose to have joy no matter what we face.

Eighty-six year old Joy Johnson, a veteran of 25 New York City marathons, died with her running shoes on. Johnson, who was the oldest runner in this year's marathon, fell at the 20 mile marker in the event. She crossed the finish line at about eight hours. After the race she returned to her hotel room, lay down with her shoes on, and never woke up.

Amazingly, Johnson didn't run her first marathon until she was sixty-one years old. The only hint of the sport was the verse from Isaiah 40:31 which hung on the kitchen wall in her family farm home in rural Minnesota: "But they who wait for 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."

Ironically, the career gym teacher, Johnson was a stranger to personal exercise until she took a three-mile walk in 1986. Then she started jogging and competing in 10-K races. By 1988 she had competed in her first New York City Marathon. Three years later she recorded her best time at age sixty-four with a time of 3 hours and 55 minutes.

A few years ago she told a reporter about her exercise regimen. She would wake up at 4 A.M., drink her coffee while reading her Bible, and then set out on an eight mile pre-dawn run. "When you wake up it can either be a good day or a bad day," Ms. Johnson said. "I always say, 'It's going to be a good day.'"

The devout Christian ran every day but Sunday so she could attend church. Johnson sang hymns to herself to pass the time while running. According to Johnson's daughter, "She was always a happy runner—and besides her faith and family, this was something she loved the most." (32)

This Christian woman died doing what she loved. She found a way to find success and peace in her life. We can do the same thing. As we let the joy of the Lord become our strength, we can find the peace we have always wanted.

The Apostle Paul talked about the secret to happiness and contentment in Philippians 4:10-13:

10 I rejoiced greatly in the Lord that at last you renewed your concern for me. Indeed, you were concerned, but you had no opportunity to show it. 11 I am not saying this because I am in need, for I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. 12 I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. 13 I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

This scripture says that Paul knew the secret to happiness. No matter what his circumstance was, Paul learned to look to Christ for true joy. In every situation, we can’t look to Christ for true joy and contentment. We will never find our happiness in success, money, or fame. Only a genuine, loving relationship with Christ can give us the joy we long for.

In the fall of 2012, Bismark Mensah, a recent immigrant to the U.S. from Ghana, was working part-time job as a "courtesy associate" at a Wal-Mart near Seattle, Washington. As he collected shopping carts, Bismark often found personal items that customers had left behind—keys, credit cards, wallets. But on an October afternoon he spotted an item that really grabbed his attention. It was a white envelope with a clear window in the middle that was bulging with cash. Lots of cash—like $20,000 in cash!

Mr. Mensah could have used some of that cash. He came to the U.S. to study business administration so he could return to Ghana and help his mom expand her five small seamstress shops. And by making $9.05 per hour at Wal-Mart it will take him a long time to fulfill that dream.

But Mensah says he never considered keeping the money. "My conscience wouldn't allow it," he said. "I couldn't even drive home if I did that." So, instead, he ran after the husband and wife who had left the cash. As it turns out, they were going to use the money for a down payment on a house. Mensah said, "She was like, 'Wow!' Tears are coming out. She took some money and tried to reward me. I said, 'No, no. I'm all right.'"

Mensah received Wal-Mart's "Integrity in Action Award" and a promotion. Now he works full time for $9.19 an hour—with benefits. But for Mensah the real rewards are more internal. He had this to say about his job: "In the parking lot, people chat, tell you their problems, you see that a person is not happy. I tell them, 'God is in control. Everything is OK.'" (33)

This is a great story of a man who learned to find joy through Christ instead of in money and possessions. We can do the same thing. We can learn to find joy in serving Christ and drawing close to him. When Christ becomes our true joy, we find the contentment we always longed for.

Olympic athletes turn down social opportunities in order to go to bed early, get out of bed before the sun comes up, and limit their diets to include the perfect blend of protein, fiber, complex carbohydrates, and nutrients. And why do they do this? The medal. The medal is the dream. The fantasy of winning an Olympic medal is what propels these athletes forward.

But as we know, all medals are not created equal. USA Today cited a report that surveyed the happiness and contentment level of the gold, silver, and bronze medal winners. No surprises, the happiest athletes were the gold medalists. The next result, however, may surprise you. You may think the silver medalists were next on the happiness scale. They weren't. The bronze medalists were happier than the silver medalists.

The silver medalists think, I came so close to winning gold. The bronze medalists think, I almost didn't get a medal—I'm grateful to be on the podium. One reflects on what they have, the other reflects on what they don't have. The third-place athlete is happier than the second-place athlete. Psychologists describe this as counterfactual thinking. It's the "I could have" or "I should have" state of mind.

Sadly, sometimes suffer from this "silver medal syndrome." Though we have the highest standard of living in recorded history, we never quite seem to have enough. (34)

This sadly portrays many people in our society. They think their happiness and personal joy is connected with reaching a certain status in life. The truth is that through Christ we can find the contentment and joy we long for. It’s in Christ that we find true joy and peace.

Chapter 8

Find Peace

Many of us go through life anxious and afraid. We are stressed out, and we never experience the peace that we are longing for. God wants to fill us to overflowing with peace. He wants to give us peace for our minds and hearts. As we trust in God’s Word, we find a peace like never before.

The Bible says this in Philippians 4:6-7, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

But maybe when you examine your life you can find no peace. You spend your time worrying, and you can’t seem to shake your problem. You want so badly to be free. You want so badly to have the peace of God that passes all understanding in your life, but you are not sure how to find this peace.

Full Of Anxiety

Many people in our world today are full of anxiety. It is very difficult to live a life of peace. In an article in The Atlantic magazine, author Scott Stossel shares openly about his lifelong attempts to deal with the anguish of anxiety. From an early age he's been what he calls been "a twitchy bundle of phobias, fears, and neuroses." Stossel writes: "Even when not actively afflicted by acute episodes [of anxiety], I am buffeted by worry." Stossel adds, "Here's what I've tried [to deal with my anxiety]:

individual psychotherapy (three decades of it), family therapy, group therapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, rational emotive behavior therapy, acceptance and commitment therapy, hypnosis, meditation, role-playing, interoceptive exposure therapy, in vivo exposure therapy, self-help workbooks, massage therapy, prayer, acupuncture, yoga, Stoic philosophy, and audiotapes I ordered off a late-night TV infomercial.

And medication. Lots of medication. Thorazine. Imipramine. Desipramine. Chlorpheniramine. Nardil. BuSpar. Prozac. Zoloft. Paxil. Wellbutrin. Effexor. Celexa. Lexapro. Cymbalta. Luvox. Trazodone. Levoxyl. Inderal. Tranxene. Serax. Centrax. St. John's wort. Zolpidem. Valium. Librium. Ativan. Xanax. Klonopin. Also: beer, wine, gin, bourbon, vodka, and scotch.

Here's what's worked: nothing. (35)

Many of us feel this way. We have done everything we know to find peace and rest, but we can’t seem to find it. Peace simply alludes us. But the wonderful truth is that Jesus promised to give us peace. He promised to give us rest.

Jesus said this in John 14:27, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

He also says this in Mark 11:28-30, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

God wants to give you rest. He promises that you can find the peace and relaxation you need in him. This does not mean that our circumstances will always work out in our favor. This does not mean that we won’t face hardships and difficult situations. But it does mean that Jesus will give us peace as we draw close to him.

Even in difficult times, we can draw close to God and sense his power and presence. God’s presence can sustain us in any situation. We must learn to lean on Christ when we are suffering.

God wants to bless us with his peace. He wants to surround us with his presence. Sometimes it is hard to feel God’s presence because we are going through a difficult situation. It’s during these times that Christ is closest to us.

While staying alone in her convent, an 85-year-old Catholic nun got trapped inside a broken elevator for four nights and three days. She tried pushing the inside elevator door, but the electricity went off. She had her cell phone with her, but there wasn't a signal. Fortunately, she had carried a jar of water, some celery sticks, and a few cough drops into the elevator.

At first she said to herself, This can't happen! But then she decided to turn her elevator into a personal prayer retreat. "It was either panic or pray," she later told an interviewer for CNN. She started viewing the experience as a "gift." "I believe that God's presence was my strength and my joy—really," she said. "I felt God's presence almost immediately. I felt like he provided the opportunity for a closer relationship." (36)

This is a great illustration of what we can do in a difficult situation. In the nun’s words, we can “either panic or pray.” I believe these are the two options that are always presented to us when we face a trying situation. We can panic or we can pray.

When we decide to do the latter, we experience God’s presence in a powerful way. The story of Paul and Silas shows us this wonderful truth. Paul and Silas were beaten and thrown in prison because they cast a demon out of a young fortune teller. They entire city turned against Paul and Silas and had them thrown in prison. I can’t imagine the fear, pain, and heartache they experienced. They were simply preaching the Gospel, and this action caused them to be beaten and imprisoned. The Bible says this:

Acts 16:16-31, Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her.

When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”

The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everyone’s chains came loose. The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped. But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”

The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”

They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

This story is the perfect of example of finding peace in the midst of a terrible situation. These men were persecuted and hurt. They had done no wrong. It would have been easy for them to get bitter. It would have been easy for them to get mad at God. Instead of being overwhelmed with heartache, they began to pray and worship.

When we decide to pray and worship despite our difficult situation, God shows up in a wonderful way. In the story, God shows up in an earthquake and sets them free. If this were not enough, God allows Paul and Silas to lead their jailor to Christ. What a turn around!

God wants to do the same thing for you. He wants to meet you in the midst of your difficulties and turn your situation. He wants to use your situation to bring himself glory and honor. But the question is this: Will you draw close to God through worship even when your life seems to be falling apart?

Full Of Stress

In our world today, many people are filled with stress. Because of the various circumstances in their life, they can’t seem to find rest. They can’t seem to relax. Their life feels like it is spinning out of control. They simply don’t know what to do with all of the stress in their life.

Kyle Idleman tells the following story about stress:

When I started a new church in Los Angeles County, California, I found that I was overwhelmed with pressure and stress. I was working more than seventy hours a week. My wife would ask me to take a day off, and I would say, "I can't." I wasn't sleeping at night, and I started to take sleeping pills. When the church was about a year old, I woke up in the night, and I had this strange sense that God was laughing at me. As I lay in bed, I wondered, Why is God laughing at me?

It would take five years before I finally got an answer to that question. Here's how it happened: when we moved into our current house, I saved the heaviest piece of furniture for last—the desk from my office. As I was pushing and pulling the desk with all my might, my four-year-old son came over and asked if he could help. So together we started sliding it across the floor. He was pushing and grunting as we inched our way along. After a few minutes, my son stopped pushing, looked up at me, and said, "Dad, you're in my way." And then he tried to push the desk by himself. Of course it didn't budge. Then I realized that he thought he was actually doing all the work, instead of me. I couldn't help but laugh.

The moment I started laughing at my son's comment, I recalled that middle-of-the-night incident and I realized why God was laughing at me. I thought I was pushing the desk. I know that's ridiculous, but instead of recognizing God's power and strength, I started to think it all depended on me. (37)

Like this story illustrates, God’s presence and power are with us all of the time.Whether we realize it or not, God’s protection is all around us. He guides us through life even though we don’t always realize he is there. He helps us and protects us. He promised that he would never leave us. When difficulties come and we feel completely stressed out, we must realize that Jesus promised to always be with us.

Full Of Depression

Many people suffer with depression in our modern society. They feel that they will never break free from the pain that surrounds their life. Maybe their depression is because of a physical ailment. Maybe their depression is because of a life situation that did not go in their favor. Maybe their depression is due to a loss.

Junior Seau was well-known as a passionate, fist-pumping, emotional leader and superstar for the NFL's San Diego Chargers. In his 13-year pro football career, Seau made the Pro Bowl 12 times. He was also selected to the NFL 1990s All-Decade Team. Sadly, on May 2, 2012, at the age of 43, Seau took his own life.

Seau's death in northern San Diego County stunned the community who adored him for his service and outgoing personality. In an interview with Sports Illustrated, his former teammate and friend, Rodney Harrison, explains that in Seau's last days he was desperately searching for peace. Harrison said:

He would tell me that the only time he truly felt at peace was when he was with his children or in the surf. He would say, "When I'm on those waves, it's the greatest feeling. I have no worries, no stress, no problems. I just forget about everything." Junior was always searching for peace. (38)

Maybe you feel like Mr. Seau. You have a hard time finding real peace. You have a hard time overcoming the difficulties in your life. The Bible teaches us that we can trust Christ for freedom. The Bible says the following in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:

For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4 The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5 We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

This scripture teaches us that the way we wage war against our depression is through “spiritual weapons.” These spiritual weapons are pray, God’s Word, and worship. As we engage in these activities, we can gain victory.

The passage shows us that sometimes we can have “strongholds” in our minds. A stronghold is a system of thinking in our minds that influences our lives. We can be Christians and still have strongholds of negative thinking in our minds.

To gain the victory over these strongholds, we need to fight against them with prayer, God’s Word, and worship. These activities can change our lives. These activities will revolutionize our lives.

Prayer brings the power of God into our lives. Jesus said the following about prayer:

Matthew 6:5-13, “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. This, then, is how you should pray ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us today our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’”

These are phenomenal scriptures on prayer. They give us specific things we can pray when we come to God.

First, Jesus tells us to approach God like a father. We need to approach God as our heavenly Father because this helps us understand his concern and love for us. Like an earthly father who cares deeply for his children, God cares infinitely more for us.

Second, Jesus tells us to pray that God’s will be done in our lives. When we pray this prayer, we surrender our lives and situations to God. All desire as Christians should be too see God’s kingdom come and his will be done in every situation in our lives.

These steps in prayer will always help us to draw close to God and find the freedom we need.

We also need to focus on God’s Word in our struggle against depression. The Bible is very powerful. The Bible says this:

Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

This scripture means that the Word of God is very powerful. It can change our entire situation around. When we think about God’s Word and speak God’s Word with our mouths, we will sense our mood changing. God’s Word can impact our emotions in a powerful.

Finally, when we begin to worship God and come into his presence, we can experience God’s power in a real way. The story of Jehoshaphat is a great story about the power of worship. In the story, God’s people were facing a terrible enemy. God’s battle plan for his people was worship. The Bible says the following about worship in 2 Chronicles 20:1-22:

After this, the Moabites and Ammonites with some of the Meunitescame to wage war against Jehoshaphat.

Some people came and told Jehoshaphat, “A vast army is coming against you from Edom, from the other side of the Dead Sea. It is already in Hazezon Tamar.” Alarmed, Jehoshaphat resolved to inquire of the Lord, and he proclaimed a fast for all Judah. The people of Judah came together to seek help from the Lord; indeed, they came from every town in Judah to seek him.

Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the Lord in the front of the new courtyard and said:

“Lord, the God of our ancestors, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you. Our God, did you not drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? They have lived in it and have built in it a sanctuary for your Name, saying, ‘If calamity comes upon us, whether the sword of judgment, or plague or famine, we will stand in your presence before this temple that bears your Name and will cry out to you in our distress, and you will hear us and save us.’

“But now here are men from Ammon, Moab and Mount Seir, whose territory you would not allow Israel to invade when they came from Egypt; so they turned away from them and did not destroy them. See how they are repaying us by coming to drive us out of the possession you gave us as an inheritance. Our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.”

All the men of Judah, with their wives and children and little ones, stood there before the Lord.

Then the Spirit of the Lord came on Jahaziel son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite and descendant of Asaph, as he stood in the assembly.

He said: “Listen, King Jehoshaphat and all who live in Judah and Jerusalem! This is what the Lord says to you: ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this vast army. For the battle is not yours, but God’s. Tomorrow march down against them. They will be climbing up by the Pass of Ziz, and you will find them at the end of the gorge in the Desert of Jeruel. You will not have to fight this battle. Take up your positions; stand firm and see the deliverance the Lord will give you, Judah and Jerusalem. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged. Go out to face them tomorrow, and the Lord will be with you.’”

Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground, and all the people of Judah and Jerusalem fell down in worship before the Lord. Then some Levites from the Kohathites and Korahites stood up and praised the Lord, the God of Israel, with a very loud voice.

Early in the morning they left for the Desert of Tekoa. As they set out, Jehoshaphat stood and said, “Listen to me, Judah and people of Jerusalem! Have faith in the Lord your God and you will be upheld; have faith in his prophets and you will be successful.” After consulting the people, Jehoshaphat appointed men to sing to the Lord and to praise him for the splendor of his holiness as they went out at the head of the army, saying:

“Give thanks to the Lord,

for his love endures forever.”

As they began to sing and praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon and Moab and Mount Seir who were invading Judah, and they were defeated.

This is such an amazing story. Of all the battle plans God could have given Jehoshaphat, God gave him a plan that involved worship. Jehoshaphat honored God through worship, and the power of God showed up in a might way.

When we choose to put God first through worship, we experience God’s power and presence like never before. Worship gives us the strength and power to overcome depression.

Chapter 9

Find Victory

Do you feel that you never have victory in your life? Do you have areas of your life where you simply cannot win? Do you have sin areas and life difficulties that defeat you every time? God wants to give you the victory you need.

Have you prayed and asked God to forgive you for a certain sin, but you keep going back to the sin? Do you wish you could find the victory over the sin struggles in your life? Jesus wants to give you the power and victory you need. The Bible says this in 1 Corinthians 15:57: But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible also says the following about victory in Revelation 12:11, They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.

These are wonderful scriptures. They promise that we can have victory in life. As Christians, God wants us to find victory in our lives. He wants us to walk in victory on a daily basis.

Victory Over Sin

Many people struggle with sin areas in their lives that they simply cannot shake. They want be free, but they are not sure how to win the struggle with sin.

A dog named Wilson was left feeling under par, after gobbling up a staggering seven golf balls. Owner Tim Norris rushed Wilson to the vet thinking his pet had swallowed a single ball at Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club. But an X-ray revealed that Wilson, a chocolate Labrador, had actually swallowed seven balls.

"Our dog walker let Wilson off the lead," Norris said, "and we think he must have found a basket full of practice balls somewhere near the golf club. He probably thought they were dog biscuits." But when they rushed Wilson to the vet they were shocked to discover that he'd eaten seven golf balls. Norris added, "Chocolate Labradors are incredibly greedy dogs and Wilson is no different. They will eat anything they think is food. I have since bought a muzzle for him, because at 18 months he still has a lot to learn." Wilson underwent an exploratory operation at Forest Lodge to remove the golf balls.

According to Karen Belcher, the head veterinary nurse, said, "I don't know whether the golf balls were covered in something that seemed tasty, but to eat seven he must have liked them." Belcher explained that one more ball could have ruptured Wilson's stomach and killed the dog. "Seven balls was probably the limit for him," she said.

Wilson was released from the vets' office the day after surgery and has since made a speedy recovery—though he's still in the doghouse. (39)

Maybe you have been in a situation where you felt like this dog. You just couldn’t seem to control some sin area in your life. The wonderful truth is that Jesus fought the sin battle for us. We find victory by putting our faith in what Jesus did for us at the cross. When Jesus shed his blood on the cross, he won the victory over sin. The Apostle Paul explains this truth in Romans 7:21-24:

So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord!

In these scriptures, Paul is explaining the problem we all have with sin. We give our lives to Jesus Christ, and then we start a new life. But we quickly realize a lot of our old sin habits still tempt us. We are not sure what to do. We want to be free from sin, but we find ourselves giving in to old temptations in our lives.

Paul explains that we will still have a struggle with sin after we give our lives to Christ. We will still have temptation. But because we have become children of God, we now have the Holy Spirit living inside of us. If we rely on the Holy Spirit on the inside of us, we can have power to say “no” to temptation and sin. The Bible says it this way in Galatians 5:16-24:

So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

This passage explains the inner struggle of every Christian. We want to obey God and do the right thing, but we have our sinful nature which pulls us in the wrong direction. The way the Bible teaches us to overcome our sinful nature is by following the leadings of the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit inside of us is so powerful! If we rely on the power of God, we can have victory in our lives. The Bible says the following about the power of the Holy Spirit:

Acts 1:8, But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Romans 8:11, And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

Romans 8:26-27, In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.

Romans 8:31, What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

The power of the Holy Spirit can help us face in circumstance in life. It’s through God’s power, that we overcome our sin struggles.

Victory Over Hardships

We cannot keep hardships from coming to our lives. But we can respond to our circumstances through the power of the Holy Spirit. When we respond to our difficult circumstances through the power and strength of the Holy Spirit, we begin to see the victory that we long for. The Bible says the following things about victory:

Romans 8:28, And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Romans 8:31, What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?

1 John 4:4, You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.

These scriptures promise that we can have victory in our lives. Even when we face difficult circumstances, we can walk in obedience to God and see victory in our lives.

A sad reminder of the vulnerability of money came with the June 2009 news story of an elderly woman in Israel who had hidden her life savings of one million dollars in her bed mattress. Every night she slept on one million in American dollars and Israeli shekels. She must have felt very secure with her fortune literally inches away, holding her up each night—especially since 2008 and 2009 had been disastrous years for banks and financial institutions as the world economy suffered its worst recession in decades. What's more, she had had a bad experience with a bank and had lost trust in them. Whom could she trust? No one! In fact, she did not tell even her own daughter where all that fortune was hidden.

And that was the wealthy woman's big mistake. One day her daughter decided that the mother needed a new mattress. Who knows, maybe she sat on the bed, and it felt a bit lumpy—one of those ten thousand dollar lumps perhaps—and she thought, What a cheap bed this is! She decided to replace the mattress. She wanted to present the new mattress as a surprise gift, so the new mattress was delivered without her mother's knowledge, and the old, lumpy mattress went into the garbage.

How pleased the daughter must have felt as she watched the delivery men put the new mattress in place and haul the old mattress out to the truck. Imagine the smile on her face when she brought her mother into the bedroom and presented her surprise gift. Somehow her elderly mother did not put two and two together right away. After a night of sleep on her new mattress, however, she woke up and suddenly realized what had happened to her life savings. She literally screamed.

A video news report of this story showed the daughter walking through a garbage dump hunting for the lost mattress. News reports showed workers combing through the trash as bulldozers moved piles of garbage attempting to uncover the lost treasure. (40)

It’s wonderful to know that as Christians we don’t put our faith in money, worldly gain, or material possessions; our faith is in Christ. Our blessings and success come because of our relationship with God. When we put our faith in earthly things, we will always be disappointed. But when we trust God as the source of our peace, victory, and wellbeing, wonderful things can happen.

God wants to give you a life of victory and success. He wants to bless and favor you. These blessings start when we put our faith and trust in Christ. As we lean on Christ, we find the peace and victory we need.

Victory Over Pain

We live in a world that is full of pain. But through Christ, we can overcome the pain in our lives. Jesus said the following in John 16:33: I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”

Jesus told us that we would have trouble in this world, but he has overcome the world. Through Jesus, we can overcome the pain and hurt in our lives. We can also have peace no matter what comes our way.

One of the deepest memories I have of my father is when we would have breakfast together. We'd each pour a bowl of cornflakes and sit at the same table, but my father's mind would wander beyond our kitchen while I was in his presence. I called it "the Cereal Stare." It was a stare that I can easily picture even now in my mind. He emotionally left the breakfast table and was evidently chewing on the day's concerns at work. That look would overtake my father's eyes as his mind wandered to another country—a place of work deadlines, problems with a colleague, a crisis that had claimed his mind and heart, possibly even unfulfilled hopes and dreams. My father sat in this stare while I looked on, always an arm's length away but never invited into this distant land.

He rarely asked me a question. We discussed no topic. We would just sit and eat in silence. Now I realize the pain I was in—wanting so badly to connect to my dad, to be seen, to be noticed, to be loved by him. And I can also imagine the pain that perhaps choked his words: paying for college for my two older siblings, a conflict with an associate at work, trying to remember if he had actually returned a call that came in at closing time yesterday. Did he sit in silence because of a fight he had with my mom and felt at a loss as to how to make it right with her before he left for work?

It's uncanny how many people comment to me about the Cereal Stare, saying it was so descriptive of their families. We simply must learn to do more than eat cornflakes together and call it a family meal. (41)

We have all felt this kind of pain. Whether others ignored us and we were filled with loneliness or the problems of work and life alienated us from others. God’s wants us to overcome pain and stress that comes into our lives. He wants us to live a life of peace and joy.

We can learn to overcome in life. We learn to rely on Christ even when our lives seem stressful and painful. God wants us to learn to lean on him, so we will find peace and love for our lives. God wants to give us the victory we need.

The technical name is Commotio cordis. It simply means a shot to the chest (or, literally from the Latin, "agitation of the heart"). Doctors describe it as a sudden, blunt, and innocuous-appearing trauma to the chest that results in cardiac arrest and sudden death. The shot to heart occurs during what medical experts call "a window of vulnerability" during the 10- to 30-millisecond moment between heartbeats. The U.S. National Commotio Registry records 224 fatal cases of Commotio cordis from 1996-2010. It's the No. 1 killer in U.S. youth baseball.

Here's how one cardiologist described the concealed trauma of Commotio cordis: "When you get a trauma to any muscle you can see it bruise and swell. When it happens to your arm or leg you can see that directly too. But when it happens to your heart, you can't see the trauma because it's covered by the chest and the ribs." (42)

Maybe you have taken a shot to the heart. No one else can see your pain but you are suffering tremendously on the inside. If so, God wants to set you free from you pain. He wants to give you the strength to overcome your situation. God wants to comfort and strengthen you. God’s Word says this in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.

This scripture calls God the “Father of compassion.” God has so much compassion for you whenever you go through a difficult time. He wants to heal the pain of your heart.

The Bible says the following in 1 Peter 5:10: And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.

This scripture says that problems in life are inevitable. We all go through trials and temptation from time to time. But God promises to always restore us. When we are going through a difficult time, we must realize that God will restore us and help us.

Letting go and moving on is a difficult, painful process. Bad relationships, bad decisions—we tend to revisit the moments when we were not-so-smart (or when others were not-so-smart), beating ourselves up for our mistakes or blaming others for the ways they've hurt us. That's why Jeff Goldblatt started what he hopes will become a movement—"Get Over It Day." The day, which was recently featured on Good Morning America, falls on March 9th, which happens to be midway between Valentine's Day and April Fool's Day.

The idea behind "Get Over It Day" is simple: all of us have something—an ex-boyfriend or ex-girlfriend, stressful school or work-related issues, fears and insecurities, embarrassing moments, bad relationships, and so on. "Get Over It Day" motivates people to use sheer will-power and move on—no matter how deep the scars. Goldblatt's website even sells "get over it" and provdes helpful hints like, "If you're not sure what you have to get over, just ask your friends what they're tired of hearing you complain about." (43)

If you are struggling with pain and hurt, remember these words from Psalm 34:18: The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.

If you are brokenhearted and crushed in your spirit, God promises to be close to you. Why don’t you take a moment right now to allow God to comfort and minister to your? He is longing to bring you comfort and peace.

Chapter 10

Find Success

Does success seem to allude you? Have you tried to be successful in life but always come up short. God’s wants to bless us with success and prosperity. God’s Words says this in Joshua 1:7-9:

Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. 8 Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.

God shows us the key to success in these scriptures. We become successful as we walk in obedience to God’s Word. As we read God’s Word, we learn how God wants us to live. As we follow God’s Word, we find success in every part of our lives.

Financial Success

We can achieve financial success in our lives as we follow God’s principles concerning money. One of God’s principles that has a huge effect on our finances is the principle of tithing. God says the following about tithing in Malachi 3:8-12:

Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me.

But you ask, How are we robbing you?

In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.

God promises to bless us when we give him 10 percent of our income. God expects us to pay our tithes. When we pay our tithes to our local church, we open the door for God’s blessings. Jesus said this about blessings in Luke 6:38: Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

When we are generous towards God and others, God opens up the heavens and pours out blessing on us that we can’t contain.

In September 2013, a man in Brazil developed what doctors called "pathological generosity." In an article published in the journal Neuroscience, doctors described the strange case of a 49-year-old man identified as "Mr. A" who had a remarkable personality change after suffering a stroke. His physicians said that after the stroke affected the subcortical regions of the man's brain he suddenly had an "excessive and persistent" urge to help others. He wouldn't stop giving money and gifts to people he barely knew. According to his wife, he would buy candy, soda, and food for kids he met on the street. He was also quit his job as a manager of a large corporation. Dr. Larry Goldstein, a neurologist at Duke University said, "Although the observation of personality change is not that unusual, this particular one is apparently novel."

When asked by researchers if he wanted to return to his job, Mr. A. claimed that he "saw death from close up" and he wanted to "be in high spirits" for the rest of his life. Mr. A. was put on medication for depression, which he said cured his depression but his "pathological generosity" remained unchanged. (44)

God wants us to use our finances to be a blessing. When we faithfully tithe and live within our means, we open the doors for God to bless us exponentially.

Wouldn’t it be wonderful if you could meet the needs of others? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to provide for other people? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to bless others? God wants us to get to a place financially where we can do all of these things. He wants us to be able to bless others.

Churches in the northeastern Indian state of Mizoram have a beautiful phrase to express the way they give to God—"Buhfai Tham.'" It means "one handful of rice at a time." Here's how it works: Families in the church set aside a portion of rice at every meal for God. When they collect enough rice, they donate it to their local church. The church turns around and sells the rice to generate income.

In 1914 they used the sale of rice to raise $1.50 (in U.S. money). But lately these Christians have been collecting $1.5 million as they support 1,800 missionaries, in addition to local ministry. People have also started giving in more creative ways, as vegetables, firewood, and other resources flow into the church's outreach for the kingdom.

One church leader said,

There are many ways of serving the Lord. Some people do great things. Some people are great preachers. Some people contribute lots and lots of money. But when we talk about this 'Handful of Rice,' it is very humble. The service is done in the corner of the kitchen where nobody sees, but God knows and he blesses it.

Another church member said, "It is not our richness or our poverty that make us serve the Lord, but our willingness. So we Mizo people say, 'As long as we have something to eat every day, we have something to give to God every day.” (45)

When we are generous, we open the doors for God’s blessings in our lives. When we meet the needs of others, God makes sure that our needs are met.

Career Success

Many people are stuck in careers in which they are unhappy. They wish they could find a better career. They wish they could make an impact with their career. But unfortunately, they don’t see a path to their dream career.

Jesus said the following about the desires of our hearts in Psalm 37:4: Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

In other words, if we put God first in our lives, he will bless us with the success we long for. When we put God first, we make ourselves candidates for God’s blessings and success. Do you have a desire in your heart? Do you want to see it fulfilled? As you put God first in your life and draw close to him, you can be find the success you long for.

God cares about every area of your life. He cares deeply about your career. He understands your frustrations and hurt, and he has made provisions for you. He wants you to get into a career that you enjoy. He wants you to be blessed in your career.

So, how do we access the dream career that God has for us? We must first be faithful in the small things. The Bible says the following about being faithful in Matthew 25:14-30:

“Again, it will be like a man going on a journey, who called his servants and entrusted his wealth to them. To one he gave five bags of gold, to another two bags, and to another one bag, each according to his ability. Then he went on his journey. The man who had received five bags of gold went at once and put his money to work and gained five bags more. So also, the one with two bags of gold gained two more. But the man who had received one bag went off, dug a hole in the ground and hid his master’s money.

“After a long time the master of those servants returned and settled accounts with them. The man who had received five bags of gold brought the other five. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with five bags of gold. See, I have gained five more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“The man with two bags of gold also came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘you entrusted me with two bags of gold; see, I have gained two more.’

“His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’

“Then the man who had received one bag of gold came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So I was afraid and went out and hid your gold in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’

“His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest.

“‘So take the bag of gold from him and give it to the one who has ten bags. For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them. And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

This story teaches us the importance of faithfulness. You may have job right now that you don’t enjoy. But when you work with all of your heart as unto the Lord, you will find success and favor. As you show up for work and do the best you can each day, God will bless and favor you.

If you are in a difficult job situation, don’t give up. Keep showing up and being faithful. God wants to bless you with a career that is exciting and fulfilling. But the pathway to you new career is being faithful right now in whatever circumstances you find yourself in.

Nearly 70 of Americans cite work as a major source of stress in their lives; over half of Americans report being unsatisfied and unhappy with their jobs. How can the typical worker find a little more satisfaction in work? Adam Grant, a researcher at the Wharton School of Business, offers some simple advice: become a giver at work.

Based on his research, Grant has identified three basic kinds of workers: takers, matchers, and givers. Takers see the workplace as a competitive, dog-eat-dog place. "If I don't look out for myself first," takers think, "no one will." Matchers believe that work relationships are governed by even exchanges of favors. In contrast, givers are other-focused, paying more attention to what other people need from them. Their hallmark is generosity at work.

Surprisingly, Grant has found that only 8 percent of people describe themselves as givers at work. That's because most people assume that in the workplace givers will never get ahead in their career. Also, when people are stressed out at work, their first instinct is to retreat into a taker mentality. But Grant's research consistently shows that givers are among the most successful people in business. They may also be the happiest.

In one study, Grant found that givers who were high school teachers were less vulnerable to stress and exhaustion if they saw the impact their giving was having on their students. Being a giver at work also has lasting benefits on well-being outside of work. In a study of 68 firefighters, those who helped others on the job felt happier at home at bedtime than those who did not.

Grant asks a question that's relevant to every follower of Christ: "Would you rather achieve success [at work] that comes at the expense of others or in ways that lift other people up?" (46)

God wants us find contentment in our careers. Our careers take a turn for the best when we begin to look for ways to bless others. When we show up to work and are faithful and generous, we open the door to God’s blessing and promotion.

Relational Success

God wants to bless your relationships. He wants to take your relationships to a whole new level. You may feel that you can never be successful in your relationships. You may feel that your relationships will always fall apart. But God wants you find the success you have always wanted. The Bible says this in Ecclesiastes 4:7-12:

Again I saw something meaningless under the sun: There was a man all alone; he had neither son nor brother. There was no end to his toil, yet his eyes were not content with his wealth.

“For whom am I toiling,” he asked, “and why am I depriving myself of enjoyment?” This too is meaningless—a miserable business! Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

This is a wonderful passage. The scriptures tell us that God does not want us to be alone. He wants us to be connected with family and friends. Because of God’s desire for us to have meaningful friendships and relationships, God provides the relationships we need. The Bible says this in Philippians 4:19: And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

This verse says that God will bless us with everything we need in life. He will provide for all of our relational needs. God wants to bless us with friends and family who will be there for us. God wants to bless us with meaningful relationships.

As the saying goes, "Dogs are man's best friend." A dog should stand by your side no matter what. So you know you're having a bad day when you get shot in the back by your own dog.

That's what happened to a 46-year old Utah man in the fall of 2011. At 8:30 A.M. on the north end of the Great Salt Lake near the bird refuge, the duck hunting enthusiast (who was not named in the local news reports) and his dog were drifting in a canoe-type boat. When the man stepped into the marsh to set up some decoys, he left his 12-guage shotgun resting across the bow of the boat.

According to Kevin Potter, the local sheriff's deputy, that's when the dog "did something to make the gun discharge." Apparently the excited dog jumped on the boat's bow and stepped on the gun. The gun went off, shooting the man in the "buttocks" with 27 pellets of birdshot.

Deputy Potter wouldn't speculate about the dog's motives for the shooting. Although he would say, "(The dog) did something to make the gun discharge. I don't know if the safety device was on. It's [possible] the dog could have taken it off safety."

Police called the incident an "accident." No charges have been filed and the dog still isn't talking. (47)

Maybe you have been backstabbed by someone you trusted. This is so hard, but God wants to help you overcome your pain. He wants to heal your broken heart and help you have victory in your life. He wants to restore you joy and peace. You truly can have relationship success. God desires to meet your needs and mend your heart.

Chapter 11

Healing Others

As you read this book, I hope you begin to find the healing you are looking for. As you put these biblical principles to work in your life, I believe you are going to see amazing results! God has a huge plan for you. He wants you to be in complete health. He wants you to be free from a broken heart. He wants you to blessed financially. He wants you to be completely set free from everything that has held you back. He wants to turn your relationships around. He wants to give you the best friends you have ever had.

As you put Jesus first in your life, you are going to see some amazing results. As you spend time with Jesus on a daily basis, you are going to see your relationship with God go to a new level. As you renew your mind by thinking about God’s Word, you will overcome the problem areas in your life that have held you back for years. As you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit, he will comfort and strengthen you in your difficult times.

As you dream big, God will bless you like never before. He will put dreams in your heart like you have never experienced before. He will then help you accomplish these wonderful dreams.

Once these amazing things begin to happen in your life, it is time for the last step in your healing process: Healing others.

Healing The Brokenhearted

Jesus said this in Luke 4:18-19: The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

This was the purpose of Jesus. He was consumed with healing the brokenhearted. Jesus still wants to heal the brokenhearted people of this world through us. As we pursue our relationship with Christ, he will put a burden in our hearts for the brokenhearted. The brokenhearted surround us on a daily basis. We are related to them. We are friends with them. We work with them. The brokenhearted live in our neighborhoods and in our cities. We do not have to look far to find the brokenhearted. When we find them, it is our responsibility as Christ followers to heal them.

Mr. Glenn Ey, a 44-year-old Australian man, was lost at sea. What had been a relaxing two weeks of sailing down the coast became a brutal life-and-death ordeal. During a raging storm, a massive wave flipped the yacht and snapped the mast into three pieces. Helpless and adrift 270 nautical miles off the coast, Mr. Ey activated his emergency flare, and then waited.

Sheltering below deck on the broken boat, Ey couldn't have known that an airplane full of bored Canadians and home-bound Australians were about to be shaken from their mid-flight stupor by the pilot.

The plane's captain, Andrew Robertson, explained that they'd been asked by Australian search and rescue to help locate a distressed yacht. Captain Robertson then brought his plane down to 5,000 ft. and asked crew and passengers to watch for the boat. Robertson admitted that it was like finding "a needle in a haystack." Robertson said, "I had already made a PA announcement telling passengers what we were doing and as we got into the area, I said: "We're coming into the search area, please everybody look out to the window and if you seen anything let us know."

Several passengers and a flight officer using a passenger's binoculars almost immediately spotted the yacht. Robertson dropped the plane to less than 4,000 feet and determined it was the right boat. With the location reported, a coast guard rescue was launched.

After his rescue, Ey said, "I heard the jet overhead, but I didn't know it was for me—I wasn't aware of what had transpired until I got back to land. I think what they did is fantastic." (48)

Once we receive our healing and begin to reach our God given dreams, we can be like the pilot and passengers who rescued this man. We can go out and rescue others. We can find friends and family members who have broken hearts. We can minister to them and help them find healing.

My prayer is that this book will help you find the healing you have always wanted. I then hope that you will pass these principles on to other people around you who are broken and hurting. We can be conduits of God’s grace, forgiveness, love, and hope the broken people who surround us on a daily basis.

There's a scene in Herman Melville's (author of Moby Dick) novel White Jacket that focuses on the ship's chief surgeon, Cadwallader Cuticle, M.D. The doctor is bored with the voyage because he has little work to do, but one day he has the chance to do an exciting operation. A sailor has been shot in the leg and the leg must be amputated. The ship is in port so Dr. Cuticle invites surgeons from other ships to observe his impressive surgical skills on display.

Once the audience gathers, Dr. Cuticle chokes up as he explains, "This is my first important case of surgery in a nearly three years' cruise." Cuticle launches into a detailed lecture about anatomy, surgical techniques, and the many difficult operations he's performed in the past. As he proceeds with the amputation, the patient keeps shrieking and passing out. But Cuticle ignores the shrieks as he continues his long-winded monologue.

[Here's a small part of Cuticle's lecture, pompously delivered to his audience as he conducted the surgery:

Young gentlemen, you will perceive that precisely at this spot—here—to which I previously directed your attention—at the corresponding spot precisely—the operation has been performed. About here, young gentlemen, … the great artery was. But you noticed that I did not use the tourniquet; I never do. [A finger] is far better than a tourniquet, being so much more manageable, and leaving the smaller veins uncompressed. But I have been told, young gentlemen, that a certain … surgeon of Seville, has recently invented an admirable substitute for the clumsy, old-fashioned tourniquet. As I understand it, it is something like a pair of calipers, working with a small Archimedes screw—a very clever invention ….]

Finally, the steward of the ship interrupted Dr. Cuticle's lecture and said, "Please, sir, the patient is dead."

Cuticle nonchalantly replied, "I predicted that the operation might prove fatal; he was very much run down. Good-morning," and then walked away. (49)

May we not be like this doctor. He was so focused on himself that he did not realize that his patient died. We have many hurting people around us that are literally dying from a broken heart. We can bring the love and peace they need. We can teach them the Word of God. We can pray for them. We can see them reach their God given dreams. But we will have to take our eyes off of ourselves and put them on the brokenhearted around us.

In 1967 Doug Nicols was doing missions work in India when he contracted tuberculosis and was committed to a sanitarium for several months. In the TB sanitarium, Doug found himself in a lonely, confusing, and troubled place. He did not know the language of the other patients, but he wanted to share the Good News of Jesus with others.

All Doug had in the sanitarium were a few gospel tracts in their language, Parsee. He tried to pass them out, but nobody wanted them. Then one night, Doug woke up at 2:00 AM, coughing so violently that he could not catch his breath. During this coughing fit, Doug noticed a little old emaciated man across the aisle trying to get out of bed. He was so weak he could not stand up. He began to whimper. He tried again, but to no avail.

In the morning Doug realized that the man had been trying to get up to use the bathroom. The stench in the ward was terrible. The other patients were angry at the old man for not being able to contain himself. The nurse cleaned up the mess and then slapped the man.

The next night, again Doug saw the old man trying to get out of bed, but this time Doug got out of bed, iced up the old man, and carried him to the toilet (just a hole in the floor) and then brought him back to his bed. The old man kissed Doug on the cheek and promptly went to sleep.

Early the next morning, Doug awoke to a steaming cup of tea beside his bed. Another patient had kindly made it for him. The patient motioned that he wanted one of those gospel tracts. The next two days, one after another patient asked, "Could I have one of those tracts too?" (50)

This story shows what a small act of kindness can do. It can open amazing doors of ministry. Are you looking for opportunities to show acts of kindness to others? Are you reaching out to the brokenhearted and helping them reach their God given dreams?

Making An Impact

When we find our healing and reach our God given dreams, God can cause us to make an impact on this world like we never imagined. He can turn our small acts of obedience into something incredible. He wants to use our lives to make a difference in this world.

As you follow the principles of this book, you will find more and more healing in your life. This healing will lead to you reaching your God given dreams and doing something amazing in life. Your God given dream will literally affect thousands of people for Jesus Christ. It is so important that you finish the process of healing and reach your God given dreams.

On October 18, 2013 in Buffalo, New York, 37-year-old Darnell Barton was driving a bus filled with high school students over a bridge when he spotted a young woman perched on the wrong side of the guard rail. Sensing something wasn't right, Barton slowed to the side of the busy arterial and opened the bus door. From his seat behind the steering wheel, the driver called to the woman asking her if she was okay. When the young woman looked at Barton but didn't respond, he left the bus and approached her. Barton told the Buffalo News, "She turned back to look at me and then back at the traffic and that's when I kind of lunged and got my left arm around her body." Barton proceeded to talk her into climbing back over the guard rail as he guided her with his large arms. Together they sat on the pavement.

A surveillance camera shows a pedestrian and a bicyclist going by the distraught woman without stopping to help. But Barton, who acknowledges having grown up in church, said he could hear his mother's voice in his head prompting him to do the right thing. As a result he gave her some encouraging words. The two conversed until first responders showed up. Barton told a reporter "The Bible says we are to be ready in season or out of season. You've got to be ready. If you've got time to do anything you've got time to do the right thing."

When Barton got back on his bus he received a standing ovation from the high school students. Then he his route, wrote up a report, and went home. Nicknamed "Big Country" by his co-workers, there is little doubt that the heroic driver has a big heart. (51)

This school bus driver made an incredible impact in this young woman’s life. He saw a brokenhearted young woman, and then he did what he could to help. This is what Jesus wants all of us to do. No, the impact we make might not make the headlines like this news story, but our actions will impact others for all eternity.

On March 24, 1991, one of the oldest and largest Redwoods in California crashed to the ground.

People call the tree the Dyerville Giant, and it lies where it fell. When it stood, the tree was 362 feet tall (the height of a 30-story building). Its diameter is 17 feet. Its circumference is 52 feet. Experts estimate its weight at over one million pounds and its age at nearly 2,000 years.

When the tree hit the ground, a person living a mile away said that it sounded like a train wreck. Vibrations were felt 10 miles away. (52)

One day, if the Lord tarries, you and I will pass from this life to the next. When we pass on to heaven, what kind of impact will we leave behind? I believe that as we follow God’s dream for our lives and find our healing in Christ we will leave behind a wonderful legacy. Like the huge tree in California, we will leave a huge impact on the lives of those around us. Thousands of people will one day be in heaven because of our impact on their lives.

Since the beginning of the Balkan wars in 1991, about 2,500 people in Croatia have died from land mine explosions. During the four-year war, 90,000 land mines were placed across the entire country, mostly at random and without any plan or existing maps. About 466 square miles are still suspected of being filled with mines from the wars. How does a country find, and dispose of, that many mines when they don't even know where they are? The answer might surprise you—Honeybees.

Zagreb University in Croatia is pioneering a multimillion-dollar program they are calling "Tiramisu." The premise is simple: Honeybees have a perfect sense of smell that can quickly detect the scent of the explosives. They are being trained to identify their food with the scent of TNT. Food sources for the bees-in-training are laced with traces of TNT. The bees learn to seek out food only with that specific smell. Release the bomb-sniffing bees in the area of a suspected minefield, and the bees go to the mines.

There are several animals with the ability to smell and identify TNT. Dogs have been used for years. But dogs weigh enough to detonate the mines. Honeybees do not. They are the perfect bomb-proof sniffers. (53)

We can be like these honeybees for the brokenhearted around us. We can rescue them from danger and help bring the healing and peace they need in their lives.

Chapter 12

Leaving A Legacy

Do you want to leave a legacy? Do you want to make an impact upon this world that is felt by future generations? God heals us of our broken hearts so that we can leave an impact on this world.

God wants us to make a huge impact on this world. When we pass on and go to heaven, God wants us to leave a legacy behind. He wants others to be impacted with the Gospel of Jesus Christ because of the impact we made.

When we find our healing in God and live the life God meant for us to live, we will affect many other people. We will bless a multitude of people with our legacy.

A Family Legacy

First of all, God wants us to leave a legacy behind for our children and grandchildren. The most important people we can impact is our children. When we teach our children the Word of God, they will grow up to love Christ. When we teach them the things we have learned about life, they can be successful and prosperous. It is vitally important that teach the Word of God to the next generation.

Ron Fournier, editorial director for The National Journal, has covered the careers of numerous politicians, including the last several presidents. President George W. Bush left quite an impression on him. According to Fournier, President Bush always remembered names of his staff's family. The president also insisted that hard work, even at the White House, should never be an excuse to let family life suffer.

In the summer of 1999, Fournier had scheduled an exclusive interview with then-Governor George W. Bush. Bush called Fournier at the appointed time, but interrupted the reporter in the middle of the first question.

"What's all that noise in the background, Fournier?" he asked.

"I'm at the pool with my kids, governor."

Governor Bush replied, "Then what are you doing answering your phone?" They quickly ended the interview. (54)

It is vitally important that we spend quality time with our kids. Our children long to spend time with us. When we make time for them, we are creating a legacy that will help them follow God.

A popular YouTube clip titled “Battle at Kruger” pictures the importance of Christian unity. The clip shows four lions pounce on three Cape buffalo as the buffalo drink from a watering hole. The Cape buffalo—mother, father, and calf—scatter when attacked. The four lions get hold of the tiny calf, and it doesn't look good. Gnawing, biting, tearing, and dragging, the lions fight to bring the calf to the ground. It's buffalo versus lion. Then, some crocodiles also get in on what seems to be a food fight. The little buffalo has no way of retaliating. All he can do is hang in there.

That's when the herd shows up. At least a hundred Cape buffalo. A solid wall of muscle and horns encircles the four lions. The largest, strongest bulls stand side by side, forming a battering ram of horns at the front of the mass. One at a time, the largest bulls take turns charging the lions. One bull gores a lion, throwing it ten feet in the air. The other lions keep gnawing at the calf, which is still alive, but now out of the water and away from the crocodiles. The lions don't take the herd seriously—until another lion gets gored. And another gets stampeded. Finally, the calf breaks free from the last lion, and the largest bulls chase the pride of lions away.

What no single buffalo could do alone—attack, frighten, and chase away four lions—the community of buffalo could easily do together. In the end, the calf walked away without a limp. One animal expert explained that Cape buffalo typically function in various individual groups and even fight with each other. But, she added, "If a youngster is threatened, both the harem males and bachelor males—which usually fight with one another—will get together to try to rescue it. (55)

Our families can provide this kind of protection for our children. As we pray with our children, teach them the Word of God, take them to church, and spend quality time with them, we are providing protection for them that cannot be taken away.

A Lasting Legacy

When we put God first, we can leave a legacy for those who will come after us. When we find our healing and draw close to Christ. we will find success and prosperity. We will be able to bless others.

At the age of 47, the writer William Giraldi's father died tragically in a motorcycle accident. Giraldi's father was a decent husband and father, but he also had a hobby that he seemed to cherish more than anything—his motorcycle. Every Sunday for most of his adult life he cruised the highways with his biker friends. His life advice often focused on two words: Ride hard. Eventually, his commitment to ride at "insane speeds" would lead to his death.

After his father's death, William Giraldi tried to make sense of and then write about his father's passion for biking. The younger Giraldi visited the scene of the accident and talked to the coroner who examined his father's mangled body. For his final stop, Giraldi and his uncle visited the motorcycle shop where his father's bike had been inspected.

Giraldi writes:

[The mechanics] at the shop looked at my uncle and me and solemnly nodded in respect: a comrade had fallen, and we were the comrade's family …. these men on motorcycles reveled in the camaraderie, the bond; they were a band of primordial hunters out for the kill that would sustain them …. [My father belonged to] a private club that chose its members carefully. It was noble to be part of this thrill that was larger than each of them. Every Sunday the ride replaced God, a substituting savior.

And what was the result of following this "substituting savior"? One of the mechanics told Giraldi, "… to go out doing what you love … that's the only way to die. It's honorable." But Giraldi wrote: "Of course I don't believe that … There's nothing honorable about dying a violent death at forty-seven years old and leaving behind a score of family members whose lives are all ruined in some way." (56)

We don’t have to waste our life and legacy. We can commit our lives to Christ and leave a legacy that really matters. We can make a difference in the lives of the ones we loved and in the lives of those who will come behind us. God is calling us to leave a legacy for those who will come behind us. And as we follow Christ and find our healing, we can a wonderful legacy.

I want to encourage you to find your healing in Christ. Find the success and prosperity he has for you. Then be a blessing to your family. Teach your family the Word of God and spend quality time with them. Then leave a legacy behind you that will influence future generations.

God has healing in store for you. As you put these principles to work in your life, I believe God is going to show up in a wonderful way. You are going to sense his presence like never before. You are going to find true fulfillment, joy, and peace. You are going to begin to live the life you have always dreamed of.

The following story illustrates the process of healing that we all go through.

Michelangelo Buonarroti was born March 6, 1475, in Tuscany, Italy, and became, along with Leonardo da Vinci, the creative force behind the Italian Renaissance …. Over his lifetime [Michelangelo produced] a body of work that was as diverse as it was distinguished …. His most monumental achievement, though, is [his famous statue of Jesus and his mother Mary called] the Pieta.

The Pieta was commissioned on August 27, 1498. Not only was the work to be unsurpassed in its beauty, it was to be unsurpassable. For the sculpture, Michelangelo searched the quarries for just the right type of stone …. Michelangelo often spent months in [the city of] Carrara, where, with paternal care, he selected the marble, oversaw its extraction and arranged its transportation.

Once the stout cube of marble arrived in his studio, the young Michelangelo went to work. He labored over it for almost two years, sweating over it in the sweltering heat of summer and shivering over it in the biting cold of winter …. He was a man on a mission.

From its overall structure to its smallest detail, the Pieta is a work of unsurpassed beauty. [A contemporary of Michelangelo wrote]: "It would be impossible for any craftsman or sculptor no matter how brilliant ever to surpass the grace or design of this work …."

[Now] if Michelangelo worked this passionately on the Pieta, how much more passionately must God be working on his art? We are God's workmanship …. And God, as an impassioned artist, won't rest until that work is everything he envisioned it to be. (57)

The way God works is similar to the way Michelangelo worked, as he used different tools to achieve different results. He used the hammer, which was his primary tool, along with a variety of pointed chisels that he used to shape the block. Some chisels had serrated edges. Others were flat. Each had its own role in shaping the marble, its own special use, however slight. He also had an assortment of rasps and abrasives.

The tools of a torturer. Or so it seems.

From the perspective of the onlooker, when the artist begins his work, every blow from the hammer seems a random act of violence, every bite of the chisel, a senseless act of vandalism. From the perspective of the slab, the blows it receives are even more difficult to comprehend …. [In the same way], the circumstances of our life, which God uses to craft our character, are often jarring, sometimes difficult to understand and difficult to endure.

[But] we are the work of his hands …. Which is to say, we are roughly quarried stone on our way to becoming the magnum opus of God, the "great work" of his life. The work he thinks of, dreams of …. We are a masterpiece in the making. And not just any masterpiece. His masterpiece. More magnificent than the Pieta. (57)

God is forming you into a wonderful masterpiece. He is healing you and helping you. It may hurt right now. Life may seems to be falling apart. But God is forming you and transforming your life. God is healing your broken heart and mending you. He is helping you live the dream you have always wanted to live.

My prayer for you is that you will find your healing. My prayer for you is that you will find the hope you need. My prayer for you is that you will realize that God is turning you into his special masterpiece.

Don’t give up. God will never leave your side! He longs to help you. His presence will be there for you when everything seems to falling apart. He will never forsake you. As his Word says in Romans 8:38-39:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Remember that nothing can separate you from the love of Christ. Jesus shed his blood on the cross so you could be free and live the life he wants you to live. You may be facing circumstances that seem impossible. But remember that your circumstances cannot keep you from God’s presence and God’s love. He is there for you no matter what.

Keep moving forward. Keep following after God. Stay focused on God’s Word. As you follow Christ, you will find the healing for your broken heart that you have always wanted. And when you find this healing, I pray that you will help others to find healing.

There are people all around us who need to hear the healing message of the Gospel. As we live our life for Jesus Christ, we will be given opportunities to affect others in a positive way. We can make a huge difference in the lives of others as we share the love of Christ.

As God forms you into a wonderful masterpiece, remember to share your new blessing with others. Help others to experience the healing you have found. When Jesus ministered to a woman with a difficult past, she went and told everyone she knew about Jesus. The Bible says this in John 4:28-30:

Then, leaving her water jar, the woman went back to the town and said to the people, “Come, see a man who told me everything I ever did. Could this be the Messiah?” They came out of the town and made their way toward him.

I pray this will be true of us. When we encounter the love and healing of the Savior, I pray that we will go and tell others about him. We can bring the love and healing of God to those around us who so desperately need it. God wants to use us to be his healing conduits to the world around us.

Let’s find our healing and then bring healing to others!

A Healing Legacy

When we look back on our lives, I believe we will see a legacy of healing. God wants us to experience his healing power and then be conduits of his power to others.

Craig Brian Larson tells the following story of physical healing:

One of the most remarkable and well-attested physical healings of someone I know personally happened to a fellow pastor named Kenneth Wallace. When I first became a pastor in 1975, he was the presbyter of the area in central Illinois that included our church, and he oversaw the interviews for my ordination. At that time he must have been in his mid to late fifties, and he struck me as a happy warrior: big voice, thick build, square-jawed, always with a toothy smile.

In November of 1987, however, he began to suffer discomfort in the area of his prostate. Weeks later the pain was so bad that he finally went to the doctor to get a prescription for what he assumed was an infection. Instead the doctor told him, "You have a large tumor on the prostate gland that appears to be malignant." The doctor ordered a barrage of tests: biopsy, blood work, X-rays, and an MRI. The doctors determined that on a scale of 1 to 4 with 4 being the worst, he was at 4, and the tumor was so large he had probably had it for more than 10 years.

The case was referred to a specialist in Springfield, Illinois, who consulted with doctors at John Hopkins University. Together they decided that chemotherapy would be useless, surgery too dangerous, and radiation would cause too many other problems. The cancer was terminal, and they could only give him medication for pain.

In a short time his weight dropped from 217 pounds to 138. In April of 1988, he determined to attend one last statewide meeting of pastors, and in that meeting his fellow pastors gathered around him and cried out to heaven on his behalf. He went home later that night encouraged by their concern but still suffering unbearable pain.

About two months later, his brother, also a pastor, came to his home to see how he was doing. Worn down by the pain, Kenneth told him and his wife to "ask God to either heal me or take me." They prayed, and after a while they left. Kenneth was lying on the couch. Suddenly he became aware of a physical sensation, what he described as "a soothing, warm feeling going throughout my body. Every bit of pain and discomfort left."

He tried to sit up but was still very weak. He called out to his wife, Ann, "Jesus just healed me!" That night before going to bed he did not take his usual pain medication or sleeping pill, yet for the first time in over six months he fell asleep immediately and slept all night. His next doctor's appointment was one week away, and when the doctor saw him he was shocked and ordered tests to be done. The tests were sent to John Hopkins University. One week later the results came back completely negative. Kenneth Wallace was indeed completely healed. He lived 12 more years and continued to preach until his death in April of 2000. (58)

God wants to heal your body and minister to you. He wants to touch your heart, body, and mind. He wants you to have complete healing. Will you allow God to comfort you? Will you allow God to heal you? The Bible says the following in 1 Peter 2:24:

“He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

Jesus paid the price so that we could be saved and come into the kingdom of God. He also paid the price so that we could have physical and emotional healing.

Will you let Jesus heal your body and emotions? Will you allow Jesus to comfort you through you pain? He loves you with all of his heart. He is crazy about you, and he wants to rescue.

As we close our time together, I pray that you will allow Jesus to meet everyone of your needs. I pray that you will allow him to heal your heart and make you new. He longs to be close to you.

A 2009 article in the Chicago Tribune told the story of Bettye Tucker, a Christian cook who works the night shift at Children's Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Illinois. She has been doing her job for 43 years—28 of them on the night shift. She sees a steady stream of parents in her job, many of them frightened and weary. On one particular night around the time the article was written, Miss Bettye (as she is referred to by all who know her) served food to a mother whose three-year-old fell out of a second story window that morning, another mother whose seventeen-year-old was battling a rare form of leukemia, and a third mother whose eighteen-year-old had endured seven hours of brain surgery. Their stories break the heart of Miss Bettye, and—as one coworker interviewed for the article says—"that's why she feeds every last one of them as if they had walked right into the 'too-small' kitchen of [the] South Side brick bungalow [where she lives]." A member of the hospital's housekeeping crew adds this about Miss Bettye: "You need someone to bring you life, and she brings it in the middle of the night."

A picture of Miss Bettye that accompanied the article shows a woman with a beautiful smile. It's hard to imagine how much that smile would mean to a suffering parent or child. She says, "When I ask, 'How you doin' today?' and they say it's not a good day, I say, 'Don't lose hope.' When the nurses tell me it's a bad night, I say, 'I understand it's a bad night. But guess what? I am here for you. I'm going to get you through the night.'"

Another picture shows Bettye sitting down, head bowed, over a meal. "I'm a praying lady," she says in the article. "I pray every night, for every room and every person in the hospital. I start with the basement, and I go up, floor by floor, room by room. I pray for the children, I pray for the families, I pray for the nurses and the doctors. … I say, every night while I'm driving in on the expressway, 'Oh, Lord, I don't know what I'll face tonight, but I pray you'll guide me through.'"

The reporter behind the article, Barbara Mahany, offers these words about Miss Bettye: "Just might be, that divine helping on the side is the most essential item on Miss Bettye's menu. The one she stirs in every broth, and every whisper. The ingredient that makes her the perpetual light shining in the all-night kitchen."

Let’s be like this cook! Lets bring healing to the many people around us who need it. Let’s find our healing in Christ and then share healing with the hurting world around us. God wants to use us to bring healing to the world!

End Notes

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®, NIV ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. ™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.

CHAPTER ONE

1. Wayne Cordeiro, Sifted (Zondervan, 2012), pp. 205-208

2. Ed Dobson, Seeing through the Fog (David C. Cook, 2012), page 110

3. Patti Davis, "Saying No to Daddy," Town & Country (January, 2012); submitted by Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Canada

4. Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com

CHAPTER TWO

5. Tim Keown, "A Man in the Game," ESPN Magazine (12-1-12)

6. Adapted from Randall Rauser, What on Earth Do We Know about Heaven?(Baker Books, 2013), pp. 157-158

7. Shirley Shaw, Today's Christian, © 2007 Christianity Today International.

8. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Naperville, Illinois; sources: Associated Press (10-11-04), The Seattle Times (10-11-04)

CHAPTER THREE

9. Haddon Robinson, from the sermon "The World's Best Love Story"

10. Mark Buchanan, "Thy Kingdom Come," Leadership journal (Spring 2010), p. 98

11. Jonathan Lebowitz, "Jim Cantore Has Weathered 25 Years of Chasing Big Storms," USA Today (8-10-11); submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky

12. John Koessler, A Stranger in the House of God (Zondervan, 2007), pp.188-189

13. Jared E. Alcantara, Princeton, New Jersey; sources: Jerry West, West by West: My Charmed, Tormented Life, (Little, Brown and Company, 2011); and Roland Lazenby, Jerry West: The Life and Legend of a Basketball Icon, (ESPN Books, 2009), p. 139.

14. Adapted from Anne Graham Lotz, Wounded by God's People (Zondervan, 2013), pp. 155-156

CHAPTER FOUR

15. Matthias Pankau, Leipzig, Germany, "50th Wedding Anniversary Mediation for Gillian and Uwe Siemon-Netto" (12-5-12)

16. Adapted from Wayne Gordon, Who Is My Neighbor (Regal, 2010), pp. 112-113; Eric Klinenberg, Heat Wave (University of Chicago Press, 2012), pp. 37-47

17. Dave Bolin, Gadsden, Alabama; source: Aidan Radnedge, "Epileptic runner Simone Clarke: I had 20 fits but I still finished the marathon," Metro UK (4-25-12)

CHAPTER FIVE

18. Adapted from Don McNay, "Bailouts Don't Work: The Lotto Winners Study," The Huffington Post (9-7-10)

19. Richard Lawrence Miller, Lincoln and His World: Volume 3 (McFarland, 2011), p. 219; Abraham Lincoln, Abraham Lincoln: His Speeches and Writings, (Library of America, 2009), pp. 77-78

20. Matt Woodley, managing editor of PreachingToday.com; source: Stefan Theil, "The Urge to Splurge," Newsweek (12-6-10)

21. John Ortberg, in the sermon "Patch 'Em," Menlo Park Presbyterian, Menlo Park, California (preached 5-17-09)

CHAPTER SIX

22. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island, Washington; source: Heather Clark, "Nigerian Man Who Survived Three Days at Bottom of Atlantic Ocean Credits God for Survival," Christian News (12-5-13)

23. Adapted from Gordon MacDonald, "When the Doctor Calls," Leadership Journal Online (August 2013)

24. Brian Kohout, Louisburg, North Carolina; sources: Susan Candiotti, 'Investigators find fire clues aboard crippled Carnival Triumph," CNN (2-18-13); Thom Patterson, Carnival Triumph Returns to Service," CNN (6-13-13)

25. Max Lucado, Grace (Thomas Nelson, 2012), p. 94

CHAPTER SEVEN

26. Jim Collins and Morten T. Hansen, Great by Choice (HarperBusiness, 2011), pp. 14-15

27. Condensed from Kyle Idleman, Gods at War (Zondervan, 2013)

28. Daniel Burnham, quoted in Charles Moore, Daniel H. Burnham: Planner of Cities (Boston, 1921), p. 147; source: Ray Ortlund, "Make no little plans," Christ Is Deeper Still blog (5-10-12)

29. Matt Woodley, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; sources: James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner, The Leadership Challenge (Jossey-Bass, 2008)), p. 18; Purposeful/Identity, "Vision," accessed on 3-27-12

30. Dr. Robert Petterson, "All Things New: Our Eternal Home," sermon given at Covenant Presbyterian Church (11-8-09)

31. "Can Rick Warren Change the World?" a Fox News television special (8-20-06)

32. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island, Washington; sources: Michael Winter, "NYC marathoner, 86, dies after her 25th race," USA TODAY (11-5-13); Natasha Velez and Bruce Golding, "Marathoner dies happy after chasing dream to last mile," New York Post (11-5-13)

33. Adapted from Erik Lacitis, "Hero with a $20,000 heart," The Seattle Times (4-5-13)

34. Darren Whitehead & Jon Tyson, Rumors of God (Thomas Nelson, 2011), pp. 15-16; original source: Steve Wieberg, "Analysts: Bronze medal leads to more happiness than silver," USA Today (2-22-10)

CHAPTER EIGHT

35. Scott Stossel, "Surviving Anxiety," The Atlantic (12-22-13)

36. Jenny Wilson, "Nun Stuck in Elevator Survives Four Nights on Celery Sticks, Water and Cough Drops," Time.com (4-28-11)

37. Adapted from Kyle Idleman, Not a Fan (Zondervan, 2011), pp. 96-97

38. Jim Trotter, "Why?" Sports Illustrated (5-14-12): submitted by Jared E. Alcántara, Princeton, New Jersey

CHAPTER NINE

39. Dog Lucky to be Alive After Eating Seven Golf Balls, East Grinstead Courier (12-12-13)

40. Craig Brian Larson, editor of PreachingToday.com; source: Ian Deitch, "Israeli woman mistakenly junks $1 million mattress," www.ap.org (Associated Press)

41. Steve Smith, The Jesus Life (David C. Cook, 2012), pp. 154-155

42. Adapted from Jeff Wise, "How Not to Die," Popular Mechanics (10-13)

43. Adapted from John F. Westfall, Getting Past What You'll Never Get Over (Revell, 2013), pp. 12-13; Teresa Santoski, "Daily TWiP&amp;mdash;Get Over It Day," The Nashua Telegraph (3-9-10)

CHAPTER TEN

44. John Erickson, "Brazilian Man Can't Stop Giving Gifts, Money After Stroke Induces 'Pathological Generosity,'" Medical Daily (9-8-13)

45. Adapted from Paul Pastor, "Giving Is Global," Leadership Journal (Spring 2013)

46. Adapted from Emily Esfahani Smith, "Career Advice: Give," The Atlantic (4-30-13)

47. Pat Reavy, "Dog Shoots Man," KSL.com (11-30-11)

CHAPTER ELEVEN

48. Michael Platt, "Australian Glenn Ey Thanks Air Canada for His Rescue at Sea," Calgary Sun (10-17-12); submitted by Van Morris, Mt. Washington, Kentucky

49. Herman Melville, Herman Melville: Redburn, White-Jacket, Moby-Dick (Library of America, 1983), page 617ff

50. Adapted from Wayne Cordeiro, Jesus: Pure and Simple (Bethany House, 2012), pp. 59-60

51. Greg Asimakoupoulos, Mercer Island, Washington; source: Carolyn Thompson, "NY Bus Driver Saves Woman from Jumping Off Bridge, Associated Press (10-30-13)

52. Craig Brian Larson, editor, PreachingToday.com; source: booklet on "Founders Grove" distributed at Humboldt Redwoods State Park in California [accessed in October 2012], and an informational display.

53. Dave Bolin, Gadsden, Alabama; source: Dustin Stojanovic and Darko Bandic, "Honeybees trained in Croatia to find land mines," Associated Press (5-19-13)

CHAPTER TWELVE

54. Dave Ron Fournier, "Go Ahead, Admit It: George W. Bush Is a Good Man," National Journal (4-23-13)

55. Adapted from John S. Dickerson, The Great Evangelical Recession (Baker Books, 2013), p. 153

56. William Giraldi, "The Physics of Speed", in The Best American Magazine Writing 2011, edited by Sid Holt (Columbia University Press, 2011); Jerry De Luca, Montreal West, Quebec, Canada

57. Adapted from Ken Gire, Shaped by the Cross (InterVarsity Press, 2012), pp. 20-48

58. Craig Brian Larson, editor of PreachingToday.com. Kenneth Wallace pastored the Mason City, Illinois, Assemblies of God Church for 40 years.

59. Lee Eclov, Vernon Hills, Illinois; source: Barbara Mahany, "Cooking up compassion," Chicago Tribune (9-20-09), section 6

Table of Contents

Title Page

About The Author

Introduction

We’re Broken

Broken Dreams

Broken Bodies

Broken Relationships

Broken Finances

Find Your Healing

Find Hope

Find Peace

Find Victory

Find Success

Healing Others

Leaving A Legacy