Dear Friend,

My wife and I were in New York on our way back to Dallas. We stood in curbside check-in at the airport to check in our bags, but the line was not moving. I stepped out of the line, went up to the baggage handler and asked if there was a problem. He said, “Yes, all the equipment for processing and receiving the bags isn’t working. We’re waiting for things to get corrected.”

Well, we stayed there for hours. As night fell, the man announced, “The airport is shutting down because we have no power.” We found ourselves caught in the blackout of 2003 when the East Coast went dark due to a power grid failure in Canada that worked its way down the East Coast.

So we were in the horns of a dilemma; we couldn’t catch a flight out. We were already checked out of our hotel and thousands of people were trying to find a place to stay because there were no trains working. I called around in search of a hotel.

We found one at the Crown Plaza La Guardia, but it was the only room left of all the hotels surrounding the airport and they could only hold it for ten minutes. We jumped into the taxi cab and rushed over. We walked into a candle-lit hotel, blazing hot because the air conditioner was not working. No food. No air-conditioning. No light.

So we walked inside of a dark room and hoped for a better tomorrow. That’s when my wife decided to see if we could open the window to get some night air. She pulled back the curtain, and that’s when we saw it. The Marriott Hotel across the street was completely lit up, with bright lights, music playing and people outside eating. In short, we were in the wrong hotel.

So, we walked across the street to inquire why this one hotel had power when everywhere else was dark. The man in the lobby said, “We built this hotel with a gas generator so we have power on the inside that’s not dependent on circumstances on the outside.”

Friend, you might find yourself in a dark place today. It might seem as though the power has been off in your life for quite some time. I want to offer you a word of encouragement; God is with you in the darkness, providing the light you need, regardless of what your circumstances look like. On the road toward your destiny, you have a friend who sticks closer than a brother. So, don’t lose heart; you have power inside you that can overcome any of the circumstances you face on the outside.

For His Kingdom,

Why We Do What We Do

"I write to you from West Virginia, about 16 hours away by car. I'm a retired firefighter from a city here in WV. I send my sincere thank you and encouragement to all of you. Your dedication to the ministries that flow out from your support has made a difference in my life. So many times when I needed it the most, I was able to listen to God's Word preached to me by your minister, Dr. Tony Evans. The message always seems to meet my need. I didn't know I needed it until I heard the message. That's amazing to me. God knows what I need, while most of the time, the things I thought I needed were just wants. I was seeing things wrong in so many ways, and these messages cleared up my vision by making me see through spiritual eyes dedicated to the Lord Jesus. I love listening between church services. I wanted to let you all know that all of you are appreciated so much and loved. Don't give up, Church!"

—Forrest