In Whom Do We Hope?

Earlier this year, the Lord called my mother home to Himself. In her final days, Mom slipped in and out of consciousness. Her shrinking world was a scary and confusing place as she became bedridden and blind and lost feeling in her hands. In the last lucid moment I experienced with her, she began singing “All the Way My Savior Leads Me,” a hymn written by the famous and blind songwriter Fanny Crosby. I listened to Mom sweetly sing the first verse:

All the way my Savior leads me
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my guide?
Heav’nly peace, divinest comfort,
Here by faith in Him to dwell!
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well;
For I know, whate’er befall me,
Jesus doeth all things well.

Mom knew she would see her Savior soon. Her faith was not a wishful thought but was anchored to the promises of the One who created the universe. The second verse of the hymn reads:

All the way my Savior leads me—
Cheers each winding path I tread,
Gives me grace for ev’ry trial,
Feeds me with the living bread.
Though my weary steps may falter
And my soul athirst may be,
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! a spring of joy I see;
Gushing from the rock before me,
Lo! A spring of joy I see.

In light of her pain and circumstances, Mom’s thirsty heart was filled by the spring of joy provided by her Savior. 

One of the passages I read to her that same night was Psalm 33:18–20: 

Behold, the eye of the Lᴏʀᴅ is on those who fear Him, on those who hope in His mercy, to deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the Lᴏʀᴅ; He is our help and our shield.

True peace only comes when our confidence is in the One more powerful than death.

That evening, as I left the healthcare facility, I kept thinking about the source of our joyful expectation in the face of death. I reflected on how true peace only comes when our confidence is in the One more powerful than death. Who is this One in whom we hope? The prophet Jeremiah’s words reveal the character of the One in whom we place our hope:

But the Lᴏʀᴅ [Yahweh] is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, and the nations will not be able to endure His indignation (Jeremiah 10:10).

Yahweh is the only true God. In this same chapter, Jeremiah described the idols as false and worthless (v. 8). It is foolish to place our hope in something made by human hands. 

“He is the living God,” Jeremiah wrote, contrasting Yahweh with the idols. They could not speak, hear, or move, but He could. He is the one true God, and He is alive. Jeremiah twice declared, “There is none like [Yahweh]” (vv. 6–7).

Jeremiah provided another key characteristic that should give us great confidence in God’s promises. He has ultimate authority and is powerful enough to keep His promises. The gods invented by humans are laughably powerless compared to Yahweh. He is “the everlasting King” (v. 10).

In his prayer to the everlasting God, Moses wrote, “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever You had formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Psalm 90:2). Like Jeremiah, Job confidently expressed God’s Kingship: “I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You” (Job 42:2).

Nothing on Earth can stand against the promises of God. He alone is the true and just King. We can trust Him, even when we feel fearful, because our hope is not wishful thinking. Our confidence is in our living, eternal Creator. 

Nothing on Earth can stand against the promises of God.

No matter what you are facing, remember that if you trust in Jesus to take the punishment for your sins, you serve a God whom you can trust completely. Our God is a loving, perfect, and always true Father. He is our eternal, living, just, and merciful King. 

I sat with Mom the moment she passed from this life. That experience makes the third verse of “All the Way My Savior Leads Me” especially meaningful to me: 

All the way my Savior leads me—
Oh, the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised
In my Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way.

What a wonderful thought that the eternal, sovereign King of the universe is good, and His Word is true. I invite you to place your life and confident hope in His promises.

Photo Credit: Adobe Stock

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How to Make Things Right With God

Kids are funny. Their little brains put together ideas in such unique ways that seem logical to them—even if they don’t seem that way to adults.

My toddler teaches me this lesson often. When I watch her hurry to grab a flashlight to search for missing stuffed animals or stand on the nearest box or bucket to reach something on the counter, I can see the gears turning in her mind, piecing together solutions for her dilemmas.

Sometimes, I see those gears turning when she gets into trouble. If she disobeys, she doesn’t always apologize. Instead, she brings me one of her toys, thinking it will make me feel better. Her gesture is so cute that it’s hard not to smile, but at the same time, I think to myself, I don’t want your toy—I want you to obey!

I’m immediately humbled when this thought crosses my mind because it makes me stop and consider what Jesus does for us every single day. When we sin, we often come before Him thinking we can buy back His favor. So we present an offering of some kind: God, I’ll serve You at more church events to make up for my sin. Or, God, I’ll give more money to my church on Sunday so You can forgive me.

Give Him Your Heart

Maybe some of us fall victim to this line of thinking because of the biblical precedent of sin offerings and sacrifices (Leviticus 4—6; Numbers 15:22–29). God established these commands in the Law for the Israelites to atone for their sins. But we Church Age believers often carry this approach into our day-to-day behavior to make ourselves feel clean rather than allowing the Holy Spirit to convict and humble us and trusting Jesus’ finished work on the cross that redeemed us from sin.

God wants our obedience and affection more than our offerings.

The apostle John wrote, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3), and keeping His commandments should be every Christian’s priority. But we forget that because of the sacrifice of Jesus, the perfect, spotless Lamb of God, we don’t need to make peace with our Savior through offerings. God wants our obedience and affection more than our offerings.

During King Saul’s reign, the prophet Samuel made this truth clear. When the Lord commanded Saul to utterly destroy everything the warring Amalekites had—“man and woman, infant and nursing child, ox and sheep, camel and donkey” (1 Samuel 15:3)—Saul and the people disobeyed and “spared Agag and the best of the sheep, the oxen, the fatlings, the lambs, and all that was good, and were unwilling to utterly destroy them. But everything despised and worthless, that they utterly destroyed” (v. 9).

When Samuel confronted Saul, the king defended himself, saying he saved the animals to sacrifice to God. But Samuel said, “Has the Lᴏʀᴅ as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lᴏʀᴅ? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams” (1 Samuel 15:22). 

Just like my toddler bringing me a toy doesn’t solve an issue, trying to circumvent God’s instructions with his own plan did not earn Saul God’s favor.

Saul and the Israelites made the mistake we often do. Instead of obeying God, the king tried to earn God’s favor on his own terms. Just like we try to avoid the feeling of guilt when we sin by telling God, “I’ll make it up to You,” Saul tried to justify his disobedience by twisting his actions to make them sound more righteous than if he had listened to God. But just like my toddler bringing me a toy doesn’t solve an issue, trying to circumvent God’s instructions with his own plan did not earn Saul God’s favor.

Repent and Obey

Unlike his predecessor, Saul, King David learned this lesson well. When he committed the terrible sins of adultery and murder, David knew he could not work his way out of punishment and into God’s approval by offering sacrifices. In his brokenness, he wrote to the Lord, “For You do not desire sacrifice, or else I would give it; You do not delight in burnt offering. The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, a broken and a contrite heart—these, O God, You will not despise” (Psalm 51:16–17). Evidently, David must have passed this lesson to his son and successor on the throne, King Solomon, who wrote, “To do righteousness and justice is more acceptable to the Lᴏʀᴅ than sacrifice” (Proverbs 21:3).

When we sin, the path forward is one of humble repentance.

When we sin, the path forward is one of humble repentance. Our God is “merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin” (Exodus 34:6–7). Living in light of this truth, we should appeal to God’s mercy and grace by admitting and turning from our sin and rejoicing in Jesus, who has redeemed us by His work on the cross alone. Then, with our hearts directed toward the Lord, we demonstrate our love for Him by living righteously according to His Word.

Because telling our heavenly Father, “I’m sorry, I was wrong; please help me do what’s right” means much more than bringing Him a toy.

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Photo: Adobe Stock




Let’s Pray for Israel This Passover

Last Saturday night, Iran launched almost 200 unmanned suicide drones and more than 100 ballistic missiles into Israel. The strike was not a complete surprise. Iran tipped off many leaders worldwide about their plans to attack Israel in response to the strike on a building next to Iran’s embassy in Syria that killed Mohammad Reza Zahedi, the top commander of the Quds Force in Lebanon and Syria. It was later released that Zahedi played a significant part in the attacks in Israel on October 7, 2023.

Like many, I sat close to my phone on Saturday, checking for updates throughout the night. I watched the progress of the drones and the missiles launched soon after. Nothing seemed to prepare me for the sight of bombs being shot out of the sky over beautiful Jerusalem. I cried thinking of our ministry workers and other friends we partner with in Israel trying to sleep in bomb shelters that night. Psalm 121:4 came to mind immediately, “Behold, He who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep” (NASB). How quickly I forgot who is sovereign over the nations! 

I believe it is no mistake that the unprecedented attack on Israel has come around Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

I believe it is no mistake that the unprecedented attack on Israel has come around Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread. This year, Passover begins at sundown on April 22, the 15th day of the month of Nisan on the Jewish calendar. All over the world, the Jewish people have started cleaning out their homes of leavened bread—a symbol of evil in their hearts— preparing to celebrate God delivering their people out of Egypt, “Now this day will be a memorial to you, and you shall celebrate it as a feast to the Lᴏʀᴅ; throughout your generations you are to celebrate it as a permanent ordinance” (Exodus 12:14, NASB). For 3,400 years, Jewish people have sat down to a meal with their families and celebrated Passover to remember the Lord, as He commanded.

Why Study Old Testament Feasts and Laws?

Sometimes, as Christians, we can look at the complexities of the Jewish feasts and laws and dismiss them. After all, we are now in the Church Age. However, skipping over these feasts and laws because we do not see their significance is a grave mistake. They are not simply Jewish. God is their Author, not man (although plenty has been added to them throughout the years). It is God who chose Abraham and his descendants as His chosen nation. 

Learning about the feasts and laws gives a better understanding of who God is and what He views as important. It even gives us an understanding of end-times prophecy. For example, have you ever wondered why the Millennial Kingdom seems so Jewish? Because it reflects God! 

God commanded the Jewish people to remember the Passover because He knows it is human nature to forget.

God commanded the Jewish people to remember the Passover because He knows it is human nature to forget. And isn’t it just like God to allow them to celebrate and remember Him through sitting down together as a family and eating?

There were three original elements God wanted present as the people of Israel celebrated the remembrance of the Passover: (1) a lamb—a reminder of the blood of the lamb on the doorposts, (2) unleavened bread—a reminder of leaving Egypt in haste with no time for their bread to rise, and (3) bitter herbs—a reminder of the hardships God delivered them from.

Jesus obeyed this command of Scripture too. His last meal before being crucified was the Passover meal, which included these elements, with His disciples. Wine, parsley, egg, fresh water, salt water, four cups, and more were added to the feast as years passed, each having significance. Friends of Israel theologian David Levy wrote a helpful article on the Passover and the meaning and symbolism of its elements that you can read here

Christians often overlook Passover as we approach this significant holiday; after all, we celebrated Easter weeks ago. Nowhere in the New Testament does God command Christians to celebrate Passover. But the apostle Paul reminded us of our Passover Lamb who covered our sins: “For Christ our Passover also has been sacrificed” (1 Corinthians 5:7, NASB). We have been commanded to remember His sacrifice in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper (11:17–34). 

A Challenge for Christians

In the coming week, millions of Jewish people will celebrate Passover. Traditions are sweeter in times of war and hardships. I think of how Jewish people have celebrated this feast for thousands of years in tents, outside, and in times of brutal war and tremendous prosperity. This year, some may be celebrating in bomb shelters and safe rooms. No matter what, we know that God will preserve His people for His glory. God is not finished with the Jewish people.

I challenge you as Christians to spend Passover praying and perhaps even fasting for the Jewish people. Pray for safety, as many all over the world are experiencing antisemitism and feeling isolated. Pray for those in Israel who are defending their nation from enemies controlled by evil. Pray for Israel’s leaders as they decide the proper action towards their enemies. Most importantly, pray that during this time, God will open their eyes and the eyes of their enemies to the Messiah. We know where true peace is found: in the precious blood of the Lamb, Jesus.

About the Author




Does God Still Love Me When I Sin?

Do you remember how you felt when, as a child, you did something your parents warned you not to do? Did you try to talk your way out of trouble? Did you blame something or someone else? Maybe you felt like Adam and Eve did when they first sinned by eating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They were ashamed and afraid and hid from God.

Many Christians do the same thing with God when they sin. God has given us who believe in Jesus as our Savior the gift of the Holy Spirit, who convicts us when we sin. The guilt we feel makes it hard to lift our heads to heaven without feeling that God is frowning at us, preparing to strike us with righteous judgment.

Is this feeling legitimate? Is God really waiting to punish or forsake us when we sin? Does He feel love toward us in those moments?

Crime and Punishment—and Forgiveness

Humanly speaking, these anxieties are natural. When we disobey an authority, we most often face rebuke or punishment. If a police officer catches you breaking the speed limit, for instance, you can expect a hefty fine and a mark on your driving record. Experiencing the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we might feel that our sin has made the scales of justice unbalanced. In a vacuum, this feeling is true. A price must be paid to account for our sin, which God cannot tolerate. 

But in His amazing love, God forever balanced those scales of justice when He sent His Son, Jesus, to live as a perfect Man, sacrifice His life, and resurrect from the dead to redeem and save all who call on His name (Romans 10:13). So, we who believe in Jesus don’t have to fear that we’ve lost God’s love when we sin. We are washed clean of all our sins—past, present and future—by His perfect blood shed on the cross.

Loving Discipline

Though our sin no longer condemns us to eternal punishment, it still can leave us with consequences. Sometimes those consequences for disobedience are natural and immediate, like suffering a painful burn after ignoring your parents’ warning not to touch a hot stove. Other times punishment is necessary to prevent a greater future consequence.

Experiencing the conviction of the Holy Spirit, we might feel that our sin has made the scales of justice unbalanced.

When the Holy Spirit convicts us, God actually demonstrates great mercy, leading us away from harm, because “He who keeps instruction is in the way of life, but he who refuses correction goes astray” (Proverbs 10:17). But to most people, this truth sounds backward because society is slipping further from parental correction in favor of self-deifying individualism. As a result, discipline, no matter how gentle and understanding, has been made to feel unjust.

In reality, discipline—particularly God’s discipline—is love. The Holy Spirit inspired King Solomon, the wisest man on Earth, to write this truth in God’s Word: “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lᴏʀᴅ, nor faint when you are punished by Him; for whom the Lᴏʀᴅ loves He disciplines, and He punishes every son whom He accepts” (Proverbs 3:11–12, NASB).

The writer of Hebrews quoted Solomon and added,

It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. Furthermore, we had earthly fathers to discipline us, and we respected them; shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits, and live? For they disciplined us for a short time as seemed best to them, but He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness. For the moment, all discipline seems not to be pleasant, but painful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:7–11, NASB).

God doesn’t discipline us for some sadistic purpose. “He disciplines us for our good, so that we may share His holiness” because we are His beloved children (v. 10, NASB).

Unfailing Love

The discomfort of discipline is not the end of God’s work in us. He doesn’t just expose our sin; He offers matchless forgiveness and grace, loving us without interruption, regardless of our iniquity.

He doesn’t just expose our sin; He offers matchless forgiveness and grace, loving us without interruption, regardless of our iniquity.

Jesus taught God the Father’s love through the parable of the prodigal son. This young man broke his father’s heart by demanding his inheritance and promptly wasting it all, ending up in the company of the pigs he fed to earn just enough to survive. Once the beneficiary of his father’s wealth and love, the son wished he could return home. Perhaps assuming his father would not love him like he used to, the son sought his father’s mercy, hoping to be hired as his servant.

But the father provided the love and forgiveness the son never could have expected: 

When he was still a great way off, his father saw him and had compassion, and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him. And the son said to him, “Father I have sinned against heaven and in your sight, and am no longer worthy to be called your son.” But the father said to his servants, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand and sandals on his feet. And bring the fatted calf here and kill it, and let us eat and be merry; for this my son was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” And they began to be merry (Luke 15:20–24).

Our sin does not catch God off guard. Because He created each of us, aware that we are born with a sin nature, He is fully prepared to deal with our transgressions. In fact, God reveals His perfect character and displays His glory in our failures because His grace is sufficient for each of us, and His strength “is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

If you question the certainty of God’s love because of your sin, doubt no longer. Nothing you do—“neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing”—can ever separate you from the love of God (Romans 8:38–39).

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An Evangelical Zionist’s Testimony

The date was June 5, 1967. I was only 13 years old, but I remember that day as if it were yesterday. I was visiting my grandparents in Virginia, watching the news on TV, which spent quite a bit of time on Israel’s so-called preemptive attack on Egypt in what would later be called the Six-Day War. Although I understood little of what was going on, I was mesmerized.

Why was I so attracted to this event? The answer may be surprising.

Growing the Seeds of Zionism

My parents had given me a Bible years before, a common cultural practice in the southern United States. I had started to read it off and on. One thing that stood out was that the word Israel was mentioned hundreds of times. I was not Jewish, but I had respect for Israel because it was in the Bible. Though it may sound simplistic, it was a starting place for a young man developing his worldview.

Seven years later, as a senior in college, I accepted Jesus Christ as my Savior and became an evangelical, born-again Christian. The local church that I joined taught biblical truth about God’s plan for Israel throughout history and its wonderful future. Although I had studied about the pogroms and the Holocaust in college classes, I now began to look at these atrocities against the Jewish people from a biblical worldview. How could anyone do such heinous things against other human beings? The issue became more than just academic to me.

Working Side by Side With Israelis

After graduating from college, I began a career as a computer analyst and engineer working on missile defense systems. A few years into my work, my heart was drawn to go into the ministry, so I went to seminary, where I studied, among other things, biblical Hebrew. As I progressed, I moved to Dallas, Texas, to work toward a PhD degree in theology at a Zionist seminary. However, I needed to work to pay my school bills and provide for my new wife. 

My love for Israelis and Jewish people grew and became much more personal. Their cause, which was already mine theologically, became mine experientially.

I applied to work at General Dynamics in Fort Worth, Texas, which made F–16 jet fighters. When I received the offer letter from the company, joy filled my heart when I read that my first project would be working with the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). At that time, Israel was procuring many F–16s, which they still fly today. I worked for five years as an avionics engineer on one of the cockpit computers, rubbing shoulders with IDF soldiers. For almost a year, I was a classroom teacher on software for them. A colonel and his wife ate dinner in my home. My wife and I were invited to celebrations of Israeli Independence Day.

The highlight of those years working on F–16s for the IDF was a free trip to Israel. I spent July 1982, during the First Lebanon War, working with soldiers in Israel. I didn’t tour much of the country, but I got to know the people and their concerns during that time of war. My love for Israelis and Jewish people grew and became much more personal. Their cause, which was already mine theologically, became mine experientially.

Perhaps the most special moment from this trip to Israel was a dinner in the home of an IDF colonel. As we sat around the table, someone mentioned that he was a hero from the Six-Day War. He was asked to show us his medals, which he did, and we discussed what had happened and a little about that war. Looking back at that precious moment, I think of the word Israel that I had encountered in the Bible as a young boy and on that newscast on June 5, 1967. I never would have dreamed then that I would be sitting in Israel with a hero of that war during another time of war in 1982. Beyond that, I would never have thought that I would be helping Israel physically defend itself against its enemies. I felt like I was in a movie.

From Local Ministry to Global Advocacy

My ministerial career began to develop in 1986 beyond only speaking in a few venues. I spent the next three decades as a pastor of local churches, where I promoted Zionism, and as a theology professor in seminary, where I made sure to emphasize to my students that the word Israel was in the Bible. So many Christians ignore Israel in the Bible or claim that the term does not refer to the Jewish people today. But due to my earlier experiences with Jewish people and Israelis, I could speak on such topics with confidence, using meaningful illustrations to highlight the truth about present-day Israel.

I would never have thought that I would be helping Israel physically defend itself against its enemies. I felt like I was in a movie.

In 2016, my ministry pursuits took a dramatic but logical shift. While I served on The Friends of Israel Gospel Ministry’s board, Executive Director Jim Showers asked me to consider becoming the director of International Ministries, which I did. Now, as vice president of the department, I write, teach, and administrate a worldwide program advocating for Israel and opposing antisemitism throughout the world. By God’s grace, that 13-year-old boy from 1967 has come a long way.

I can understand why some Jewish people would be skeptical of evangelicals like me who support Israel and the Jewish people. The unsettling history of those who have called themselves Christians while persecuting Jewish people shows why such barriers exist. But I share my story in the hopes that Jewish people might remember that a theological friend is one of the best friends they can have. For me to abandon the Jewish people and the nation of Israel, I would have to abandon my testimony, my entire theological worldview, and the Bible that I began reading as a child.

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His Ways Are Not My Ways

Has anyone ever told you, “Be careful what you pray for”? Someone offered me that advice the first week I received Jesus as my Savior. I was a new believer, eager to learn all I could about Him and the New Testament. So, I went to everything the church offered. If the doors were open, I walked through them.

On my first day in Sunday school, someone told me, “Don’t ever pray for patience.”

“Why?” I asked. 

“Because,” she replied, “the Bible says, ‘Tribulation worketh patience’ [Romans 5:3, KJV]. So, if you pray for patience, God will give you tribulation.”

Oy vey! I thought. Tribulation! That’s the last thing I want! Coward that I am, I’ve never prayed for patience in the 43 years I’ve been a believer.

He wants to strengthen my faith, deepen my trust in Him, and help me walk under the control of the Holy Spirit so that I can live a holy, sanctified life that glorifies Him.

I have prayed for plenty of other things, though, and I’ve learned that God often answers prayer in ways I never expect and for purposes that differ vastly from mine. He wants to make me more like Christ. I may simply want Him to get me a new refrigerator. He wants to strengthen my faith, deepen my trust in Him, and help me walk under the control of the Holy Spirit so that I can live a holy, sanctified life that glorifies Him.

I had been saved for three years when I wanted Him to sell my house. By then I was a young widow with a 6-year-old daughter, and the Lord showed me He wanted me to move to Schroon Lake, New York, to study at Word of Life Bible Institute. Certain that the only way I could afford to go involved selling my home, I prayed and prayed and prayed and put the house on the market.

Soon I received an offer from a young Christian couple with four children. This must be of the Lord, I thought. God is so good! My realtor told me it was a strong offer that should sail through. Overjoyed, I packed, arranged for my lawyer to handle the closing, and moved. 

Two months and two extremely unexpected mortgage payments later, we still hadn’t closed. I gave the couple two extensions until my lawyer advised me to terminate the agreement. Then the police called to tell me the house had been broken into.

Lord, I thought, how could You let this happen? I drove home and stayed with a neighbor, trying to figure out what to do. I was devastated. I went to my empty home, sat on the floor, and cried. How was I going to afford rent in New York, a mortgage in New Jersey, tuition for me, and Christian-school tuition for my daughter? My parents were no longer living, and I had no one I could turn to. I had asked God to sell my home so I could have the funds to do what I was sure He wanted me to do. Now I had no sales deal and no funds. And I was alone.

But, of course, I wasn’t alone. I had the most loving, most powerful, strongest, wisest, and wealthiest family member anyone could have. I had God. The Bible calls Him “God our Father” 13 times, and the Hebrew prayers I grew up with call Him Avinu Malkeinu, “our Father our King.” And now I had Jesus, God’s only begotten Son (John 3:16; cf. Psalm 2:12)—the Savior (Isaiah 45:21; 49:26; 60:16)—who paid for my sins with His blood (53:5–6), arose from the dead (vv. 10–12; cf. John 20), and promises, “I will never leave you nor forsake you” (Hebrews 13:5). 

A friend immediately told my pastor what happened, and a few days later, my church rented my home as a residence for the associate pastor. So, while I was at Word of Life, not only could I pay my bills, but I also had the tremendous joy of knowing the Lord was using my home for ministry. 

I live in that home today. The year I was in school, property values skyrocketed, and when I returned to New Jersey, I would not have been able to buy a house. Fortunately, I didn’t have to. My heavenly Father had taken care of me. 

God never makes a mistake.

God’s ways are perfect, but they are not our ways: “‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the Lᴏʀᴅ. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’” (Isaiah 55:8–9). 

A friend once told me she was extremely upset about something and complained to her husband, “Well, if I were God, I wouldn’t have done it that way.”

Her wise husband replied, “Honey, if you were God, you would have done it exactly that way.” 

God never makes a mistake. The house incident taught me not to pray solutions but, rather, to pray problems and to trust the Lord for the solutions. God alone sees the end from the beginning (46:10), and He always gives us what He knows is best for us. Sometimes it’s tribulation, whether or not we pray for patience. But we can trust Him wholly, because He is always good.

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