As you read this today, you might be dealing with the weight of emotional trauma. Most of us know what it means to feel the loss of a loved one or the bitterness of broken relationships. It might be loneliness or unresolved anger, but emotional pain ranks among the most difficult challenges life has to offer. If you’re carrying that weight with you today, you likely have also felt the desire to let go of your hope and just give up.
I want you to keep going.
Consider David in the Bible, who in the midst of unbearable pain and fear, penned the words to the famous 23rd Psalm. In verse 4, he says, “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.” He hasn’t experienced death, only its shadow, although I’m sure it felt like death. That would be a moment most of us would become filled with fear. But what he says next should fill you with hope again. He says, “I fear no evil.” Why? Because God is with him.
When you are at the bottom of life, you need to know that God is with you and has given you the gift of His presence.
If you have children who have had nightmares or screamed when the thunder and lightning did its worst outside, you also remember the bedside comforting, whether that was at their bed or spending the rest of the night in yours. They were afraid, and yet, they were able to fall asleep because of your presence.
When you are at the bottom of life, you need to know that God is with you and has given you a gift. When your emotions are raw, and you’re ready to pull your hair out from the anxiety of it all, God is saying something to you, “Now you have nothing except Me, and because you only have Me, you can know like never before that I am all you ever needed.” It is the gift of His presence.
So, let me say it again: Keep going. Don’t give up. Take comfort in the knowledge that whatever your emotional pain or hardship is, your God is by your side able to see you through and provide the comfort you seek when the thunder and lightning seem more than you can bear.
Why We Do What We Do
"My name is Caleb, and I'm from Baytown, TX. I gave my life to the Lord about 15 years ago when Dr. Tony did a revival here at Stallworth Stadium. My father is an ordained minister and has served in youth ministry all around the Baytown area for the last 30 years.
On Tuesday, June 19th, 2018, my father went to a cardiologist for a stress test and had a heart attack. Luckily, he was in front of medical professionals, and they were able to get him to a hospital. They told us that he had to have open heart surgery and a quintuple bypass on Thursday, June 20th, which ran lots of risks for complications due to him being on blood thinners. But they had to move fast.
Before the surgery, several men from our church came by to visit. My father's Sunday school teacher told me to download the Tony Evans app on my father's iPad so that he could listen to the sermons during his recovery. I downloaded the app and started exploring so that I could learn how to work it and teach him how to use it. Here is where things get amazing. As I scrolled back to the sermon that was on 6/19/18 (the day of his heart attack), the title of the sermon was 'Increasing the Flow of Grace,' and the description read, 'Removing the blockages and speeding up the current.' The whole message spoke about blood flow and related it to grace. That was God speaking.
The surgery went very smoothly. His recovery is going extremely well. The amount of prayer has been so overwhelming. God is GREAT!!"
—Caleb
