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I like the conversation Bob Benson recounts in his book, See You at the House, about his friend who had a heart attack.  For a while it seemed his friend wouldn’t make it, but he recovered.  Months later Bob asked him, “Well, how did you like your heart attack?”  “It scared me to death, almost.”  “Would you do it again?”  “No!”  “Would you recommend it?” Bob asked.  “Definitely not.”

And then Bob said, “Does your life mean more to you now than it did before?”  “Well, yeah.”  “You and your wife always had a beautiful marriage, but are you closer now more than ever?” “Yes.”  “Do you have a new compassion for people—a deeper understanding and sympathy?” “Yes, I do.”  “Do you know the Lord in richer fellowship than you’d ever realized?”  “Yes.”  And then Bob said, “So how did you like your heart attack?”

You know Deuteronomy 11:2 says, “Remember what you’ve learned about the Lord through your experience with Him.”  You do that, my friend, and your mess will become your message.

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All tests are temporary, limited in duration.  1 Peter 1:6 says, “In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.”  Some tests end on earth, but all tests will end in heaven, right?  In the meantime, let God train you.  He watches the way you handle the little jobs.  Jesus promised in Matthew 25:21, “If you’re faithful over a few matters, I will set you over many.”

Do you aspire to do great things?  Excel in the small things.  Don’t complain.  Let others grumble, not you.  When you’re given a task, take it.  When you see a hurt, address it.  Compassion matters to God.  This is the time for service, not self-centeredness.  Cancel the pity party.  Love the people God brings to you.  He will work in you what is pleasing to Him.  You will get through this.

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Howard Rutledge came to appreciate his time as a POW in Vietnam.  He wrote:  “After twenty-eight days of torture, I could remember I had children but not how many.  I prayed for strength. During long periods of enforced reflection it became so much easier to separate the important from the trivial.  My hunger for spiritual food soon outdid my hunger for steak.  It took prison to show me how empty life is without God.”

God is at work in each of us, whether we want it or not.  He takes no pleasure in making life hard. Philippians 1:6 says, “He doesn’t relish in our sufferings, but He delights in our development.”  No one said the road would be painless or easy, but God will use this mess for something good.  God is doing what is best for us, training us to live His holy best.  Have this assurance…you will get through this.

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God can make something good out of your mess.  The test you’re experiencing will become your testimony.  2 Corinthians 1:4-5 says, “God comes alongside us when we go through hard times, and before you know it, He brings alongside someone who’s going through hard times so we can be there for that person, just as God was there for us.” (MSG)

You didn’t sign up for this crash course in single parenting?  No, God enrolled you.  He’s taken the intended evil and rewoven it into this curriculum.  Why?  So you can teach others what He’s taught you.  Rather than say, “God, why?” ask “God, what?  What can I learn from this experience?” Rather than ask God to change your circumstances, ask Him to use your circumstances to change you. Life is a required course — might as well do your best to pass it.  You will get through this.

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Each day has a pop quiz, and some seasons are like final exams.  Brutal, sudden pitfalls of stress, sickness, or sadness.  What is the purpose of the test?  James 1:3-4 says, “For when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow.  So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be strong in character and ready for anything.”  Test, test, test!

This chapter in your life may look like rehab, smell like unemployment, sound like a hospital, but you’re in training.  God hasn’t forgotten you, just the opposite.  He has chosen to train you. Forget the notion that God doesn’t see your struggle.  Quite the contrary—God is fully engaged.  He is the Potter, we are the clay.  He’s the Shepherd, we’re the sheep.  He’s the Teacher, we’re the students.  Trust His training.  You’ll get through this.

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In 1965 Howard Rutledge parachuted into North Vietnam and spent the next several years in a prison in Hanoi, locked in a filthy cell, breathing stale, rotten air, trying to keep his sanity.  Few of us will ever face the conditions of a POW camp.  Yet, to one degree or another, we all spend time behind bars.  After half-a-century of marriage, my friend’s wife began to lose her memory.  A young mother just called, diagnosed with lupus.  Why would God permit such imprisonment?  To what purpose?

Jeremiah 30 in verse 24 promises, “The Lord will not turn back until He has executed and accomplished the intents of His mind.”  This season in which you find yourself may puzzle you, but it doesn’t bewilder God.  He will use it for His purpose.  You will get through this.

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Dad, would you intentionally break the arm of your child?  Of course not!  Such an action violates every fiber of your moral being.  Yet if you engage in sexual activity outside your marriage, you’ll bring more pain into the life of your child than a broken bone.

Mom, would you force your children to sleep outside on a cold night?  By no means.  Yet if you involve yourself in an affair, you’ll bring more darkness and chill into the lives of your children than a hundred winters.

Actions have consequences.  Make this your rule of thumb: do what pleases God.  Your classmates show you a way to cheat, the Internet provides pornography to watch.  When these things happen, ask yourself the question, “How can I please God?”  Psalm 4, verse 5 says, “Do what is right as a sacrifice to the Lord.”  You will never go wrong doing what is right!

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Don’t make matters worse by doing something you’ll regret.  Years ago, a friend gave me this counsel: “Make a list of all the lives you would impact through your sexual immorality.”  I did.  Every so often I re-read it: Denalyn.  My three daughters.  My son-in-law.  My yet-to-be-born grandchildren.  Every person who’s ever read one of my books or heard my sermons.  My publishing team.  Our church staff.

The list reminds me: one act of carnality is a poor exchange for a lifetime of lost legacy.  You don’t fix a struggling marriage with an affair, a drug problem with more drugs.  You don’t fix stupid with stupid.  Do what pleases God.  Turbulent times will tempt you to forget Him. Shortcuts will lure you. But don’t be foolish, don’t be naïve.  Do what pleases God.  Nothing more, nothing less.

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Depression can buckle the knees of the best of us, and a pastor’s wife is no exception.  Years ago my wife Denalyn battled depression.  Every day was gray.  Her life was loud and busy—two kids in elementary school, a third in kindergarten, and a husband who didn’t know how to get off the airplane and stay home.  The days took their toll.

But Denalyn was never one to play games.  On a given Sunday when the depression was suffocating, she armed herself with honesty and went to church.  If people ask me how I’m doing, I’m going to tell them.  She answered each, “How are you?” with a candid “Not well – I’m depressed.  Will you pray for me?”  Casual chats became long conversations.  Brief hellos became heartfelt moments of ministry.  She found God’s presence amidst God’s people!  He’s waiting on you, my friend, and He will get you through this.  You will get through this!

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Whatever it is that’s troubling you, you’ll get through this.  Cancel your escape to the Himalayas. Forget the deserted island.  This is no time to be a hermit.  Pray.  Lean on God’s people.  Be a barnacle on the boat of God’s church.  Matthew 18:20 says, “For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them.”

Don’t quit, don’t hide.  Would the sick avoid the hospital?  The hungry avoid the food pantry?  Would the discouraged abandon God’s Hope Distribution Center?  Only at great risk. God is waiting on you, my friend.  He is with you.  Your family may have left.  Your supporters may be gone.  Your counselor may be silent.  But God has not budged.  His promise in Genesis 28:15 still stands: “I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go!”  You will get through this.

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God surrounds us like the Pacific surrounds an ocean floor pebble.  He is everywhere: above, below, on all sides.  We choose our response—rock or sponge?  Resist or receive?  Everything within you says Harden your heart. Run from God, resist God, blame God.  But be careful – hard hearts never heal.  Spongy ones do.  Open every pore of your soul to God’s presence.

Here’s how: Lay claim to the nearness of God.  He says in Hebrews 13:5, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”  Grip this promise like the parachute it is.  Repeat it over and over until it trumps the voices of fear.  The Lord God is with you, and He is mighty to save.  Cling to His character.  Quarry from your Bible a list of deep qualities of God and press them into your heart.  He is sovereign.  You will get through this.

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You will never go where God is not.  Envision the next few hours—where will you be?  In a school?  God indwells the classroom.  On the highway?  His presence lingers among the traffic. In the operating room, the executive boardroom, the in-laws’ living room?  God will be there.

Acts 17:27 says, “He is not far from each of us.”  Each of us.  God doesn’t play favorites.  From the masses on city streets to isolated villagers in valleys and jungles, all people can enjoy God’s presence.  But many don’t.  They plod through life as if there is no God to love them.  As if the only strength is their own.  As if the only solution will come from within, not above.  They live God-less lives.  The psalmist determined, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You, God.”  Put your hope in God. You will get through this!

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The Bible says “vengeance is God’s; He will repay” (Romans 12:19).  What a great reminder. Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God.  We tend to give too much or too little, but the God of justice has the precise prescription.  God can discipline your abusive boss. He can soften your angry parent. He can bring your ex to his knees or her senses.

Forgiveness doesn’t diminish justice, it just entrusts it to God. Unlike us, God never gives up on a person. Never. Long after we’ve moved on, God is still there, probing the conscience, stirring conviction, always orchestrating redemption. Fix your enemies?  That’s God’s job.

When it comes to forgiveness, all of us are beginners.  No one owns a secret formula.  Remember this: as long as you’re trying to forgive, you are forgiving.  Just stay the course, and you’ll find a way to be strong even when you’ve been hurt. You’ll get through this.

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We pass much of life at mid-altitude.  Most of life is Monday-ish obligations of carpools, expense reports, and recipes.  Occasionally we summit a peak: our wedding, a promotion, the birth of a child.  But when the housing market crashes or a test report comes back negative, before we know it, we discover what the bottom looks like.

In Psalm 139:7 David asked, “Where can I go from Your Spirit?  Where can I flee from Your presence?”  You’ll never go where God is not.  Acts 17:27 reminds us, “He is not far from each of us.”  The Psalmist determined, “When I am afraid, I will trust in You.  When all around my soul gives way, He then is still my hope and stay!” Remember the song? Let it encourage you, let it remind you to cling to His unchanging character.  God is faithful.  He is not caught off guard. He uses everything for His glory and your ultimate good.  You will get through this.

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Ginger was six years old when she and her Sunday school class made get well cards for church members.  Hers was a bright purple card that said, “I love you, but most of all God loves you!”  She and her mom made the delivery.

My dad was bedfast, the end was near.  He could extend his hand, but it was bent to a claw from disease.  Ginger asked him a question as only a six-year-old can,  “Are you going to die?”  “Yes. When, I don’t know.”  She asked if he was afraid to go away.  “Away is heaven,” he told her.  “I’ll be with my Father.  I’m ready to see Him eye to eye.”

A man near death, winking at the thought of it.  Stripped of everything?  It only appeared that way. In the end, Dad still had what no one could take: faith.  And in the end, that’s all he needed!

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All of a sudden you’re cleaning out your desk.  The voices of doubt and fear raise their volume. “How will I pay the bills?” you think.  “Who’s going to hire me?”  Do you think you’ve lost it all? Determine not to make this mistake.  You haven’t lost it all.  Romans 11:29 promises God’s gifts and God’s call are under full warranty—never canceled, never rescinded.  What do you have that you cannot lose?

Here’s what you tell yourself: “I’m still God’s child.  My life is more than this life.  These days are a vapor, a passing breeze.  This will eventually pass.  God will make something good of this.  I will work hard, stay faithful, and trust Him no matter what.”

Choose to heed the call of God on your life.  You are God’s child.  Your life is more than this life, more than this broken heart, more than this difficult time.  God won’t break a promise. You will get through this!

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I’m entering my fourth decade as a pastor, and I’ve learned the question to ask.  If we were having this talk over coffee and you were telling me about your tough times, I’d lean across the table and say, “What do you still have that you cannot lose?”  The difficulties have taken much away, I get that.  But there’s one gift your troubles cannot touch—your destiny.  Can we talk about it?

You are God’s child.  He saw you, picked you, and placed you.  Jesus said, “You did not choose Me.  I chose you.”  I remember a groom once leaned over, just minutes before the ceremony, and told me, “You weren’t my first choice.”  “I wasn’t?”  He said, “No, the preacher I wanted couldn’t make it.”  “Oh.”  “But thanks for filling in.”

Hey, you’ll never hear such words from God.  He chose you.  Replacement or fill-in?  Hardly.  You’re His first choice.  His open, willful, voluntary choice.  “This child is mine!”  His child forever, that’s who you are.

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Sometimes God takes His time.  One-hundred and twenty years to prepare Noah for the flood. Eighty years to prepare Moses for his work.  God called young David to be king, but returned him to the sheep pasture.  He called Paul to be an apostle and then isolated him in Arabia for fourteen years.

How long will God take with you?  His history is redeemed, not in minutes, but in lifetimes.  We fear the depression will never lift, the yelling will never stop, the pain will never leave.  Will this sky ever brighten?  This load ever lighten?

Life in the pit stinks.  Yet for all its rottenness, doesn’t it do this much?  Doesn’t it force us to look upward?  The Bible promises, at the right time, in God’s hands, intended evil becomes eventual good.  You will get through this!

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You’ll get through this!  You fear you won’t.  We all do.  We feel stuck, trapped, locked in.  Will we ever exit this pit?  Yes!  Deliverance is to the Bible what jazz music is to Mardi Gras— bold, brassy, and everywhere.

Out of the lion’s den for Daniel, the whale’s belly for Jonah, and prison for Paul. Through the Red Sea onto dry ground. Through the wilderness, through the valley of the shadow of death. Through! It’s a favorite word of God’s! Isaiah 43:2 says,  “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you…when you walk through the fire, you will not be burned.”

It won’t be painless. Have you wept your final tear, received your last round of chemotherapy?  Not necessarily. Does God guarantee the absence of struggle?  Not in this life.  We see Satan’s tricks and ploys but God sees Satan tripped and foiled.  You’ll get through this!

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Twenty years of marriage, three kids, and he’s gone. Traded in for a younger model.  She told me her story, and we prayed.  Then I said, “It won’t be painless or quick. But God will use this mess for good. With God’s help you’ll get through this.”

Remember Joseph?  Genesis 37:4 says his brothers hated him.  Far from home, they cast him into a pit, leaving him for dead. A murderous cover-up from the get go.  Joseph’s pit came in the form of a cistern.  Yours may be in the form of a diagnosis, a foster home, a divorce.  Pits have no easy exit.

Joseph’s story got worse before it got better.  Yet in his explanation we find his inspiration.  “You meant evil against me, but God meant it for good. . .”  The very acts intended to destroy God’s servant, turned out  to strengthen him.

You will get through this!

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