Participants:
Series Code: TDY
Program Code: TDY017073A
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:23 Lord, let my words 00:29 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:45 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people. 01:07 Hello and welcome to 3ABN Today. 01:09 We believe that we have a program 01:12 ordained by God to share with you today. 01:15 We're going to discuss "When Hardships 01:19 are Blessings in Disguise." 01:21 This is not an interview but we'll be discussing 01:24 this Bible topic and we're so glad 01:27 that you are joining us. 01:29 And we also want to thank you for your prayers 01:31 and your financial support of 3ABN. 01:34 Let me introduce our special guests today. 01:38 They are sisters and it's hard to say they are guests 01:41 because they are part of the 3ABN family. 01:43 But they are my precious sisters in the Lord 01:46 and I love each and every one of them. 01:49 We have with us Jill Morikone, who is assistant 01:52 to the President of 3ABN. 01:55 And then we have Mollie Steenson, 01:58 who is the vice-president and general manager 02:02 and then Dee Hilderbrand, 02:03 who's looking quite lovely today. 02:06 And, Dee, you wear so many hats, 02:08 I don't even know how to... 02:09 What is your official title? I'm production coordinator. 02:13 I had to stop for a second, because now that I'm part-time 02:18 and have cutback a little bit. 02:20 I do mostly the scheduling and I just kind of help 02:24 whatever needed here and there. 02:26 Well, we're just really excited that you're, 02:28 each and everyone here to share. 02:30 And I've to tell you a secret. 02:32 And if anybody has been around 3ABN very long, 02:36 it's not much of a secret around here. 02:38 We often just say, "Oops, okay, we're gonna do a program." 02:42 And we don't plan it. 02:44 We just pray and say, 02:46 "Lord, whatever You want to say. 02:48 So none of us have an outline before us, 02:51 none of us have discussed 02:53 really what we're going to talk about, 02:56 we're just going to allow the Lord to lead. 02:59 And before we do that, we want to say a short prayer. 03:03 And then we're gonna have some music to kick this off. 03:06 Let's pray. 03:07 Heavenly Father, we come before You 03:08 in the name of Jesus. 03:10 And we thank You that we can approach Your throne of grace 03:13 as Your daughters, as Your sons who are watching. 03:17 And, Father, we pray in Jesus name 03:19 that You will lead and guide this program. 03:23 Help us to better understand how You use hardships 03:27 to shape us, Father, 03:28 and they are often blessings in disguise. 03:31 But we know that there are so many who are hearing 03:34 my voice right now, who are going through 03:37 difficult times, Father, and we pray that this program 03:41 will bring encouragement to them. 03:44 Now, Lord, we ask for Your anointing 03:46 of Your Holy Spirit. 03:48 Give us ears to hear and the will 03:51 to put into practice what You teach us today. 03:54 In Jesus name, amen. 03:56 Well, we have a treat. 03:58 We have another... 04:00 We can say she's a daughter of 3ABN, can't we? 04:03 Valerie Walker is going to be singing for us today 04:07 and she will be singing "Even In The Valley." 04:26 High upon this mountain 04:30 The sun is shinning bright 04:34 My heart is filled with gladness 04:39 Here above the cares of life 04:43 But I've just come through the valley 04:47 Of trouble, fear, and pain 04:51 It was there I came to know my God 04:56 Enough to stand and say 05:02 Even in the valley 05:05 God is good 05:10 Even in the valley 05:14 He is faithful and true 05:18 He carries His children through 05:22 Like He said He would 05:26 Even in the valley 05:32 God is good 05:42 This road of life has led you 05:47 To a valley of defeat 05:51 You wonder if the Father 05:55 Has heard your desperate plea 05:59 There is hope in that rugged place 06:03 Where tears of sorrow dwell 06:07 Can't you hear Him gently whispering 06:12 "I'm here and all is well" 06:18 Even in the valley 06:22 God is good 06:26 Even in the valley 06:30 He is faithful and true 06:35 He carries His children through 06:39 Like He said He would 06:43 Even in the valley 06:48 God is good 06:57 God is good 07:06 Let me tell you something, 07:08 Valerie Shelton Walker knows what she's talking about 07:10 because she has been through a valley of her own 07:13 and just walks through in it faith, 07:16 holding onto God's hand. 07:18 Oh, I should say maybe, I think sometimes its God 07:21 who is holding onto our hand. 07:23 And she is the niece of Danny Shelton. 07:26 Her son happens to be our director today. 07:29 Tyler is the youngest director we've ever had at 3ABN, 07:34 but he's such a talented young man. 07:36 Well, if you are joining us just a little late, 07:40 today we're going to be discussing 07:43 when hardships are blessings in disguise. 07:46 So this is kind of a Bible topic. 07:49 And, ladies, I would like to start off with a scripture 07:52 that I'd like for you to join me in reading. 07:56 And I'm going to... 07:58 Even though I've a New King James Bible on my lap, 08:01 I'd like to read this to you from the NIV. 08:05 And here's what Paul wrote to the Corinthians. 08:07 "We do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, 08:10 about the hardships we suffered. 08:13 We were under great pressure, 08:16 far beyond our ability to endure." 08:20 You know, sometimes people will take that scripture 08:23 that he wrote in 1st Corinthians 10:13, 08:26 where it says, "God will not tempt us 08:28 beyond what we're able. 08:30 He always provides a way of escape." 08:32 Sometimes people say, "Well, God will never 08:34 put on you more than you can endure." 08:37 That's not quite accurate. 08:39 He is saying right here, 08:40 "This was beyond our ability to endure." 08:43 And you're in 1st Corinthians now? 08:45 I'm in 2nd Corinthians 1. 08:47 2nd Corinthians, Chapter 1:8. Yes. 08:49 And I like at the end. 08:50 I've New King James, it says, "We despaired even of life." 08:53 Yes, that's what and is so... 08:55 It goes on to say that, "We despaired even of life." 08:58 So he's in a life and death situation. 09:02 It's a near death experience. 09:04 And he says, "This is beyond my ability to endure." 09:06 I think in the New King James, it says, 09:08 "We were burdened beyond measure." 09:11 Yeah, burdened beyond. 09:13 So it's far beyond our ability to endure 09:16 so that we despaired even of life. 09:19 And then he says in verse 9, 09:21 "Indeed, in our hearts we felt the sentence of death." 09:26 How many of us have felt the sentence of death before? 09:30 It happens, doesn't it? 09:31 But now look what He says, "But this happened, 09:35 that we might not rely on ourselves." 09:39 The New King James version says, "Trust in ourselves." 09:43 "So it happened that we might not rely on ourselves 09:46 but on God, Who raises the dead. 09:51 He has delivered," This is past tense. 09:54 "He has delivered us from such a deadly peril. 09:58 And He will deliver," this is present us. 10:01 "He will deliver us. 10:02 On Him we have set our hope 10:05 that He will continue to deliver us." 10:09 And this is in the future tense. 10:11 So basically what Paul is saying is, 10:14 "God delivered us from death. 10:16 But our real hope is in that permanent delivery, 10:20 the permanent remedy when He resurrects us." 10:23 Then he goes on and says in verse 11. 10:28 "As you help us... 10:30 He will continue as you help us by your prayers." 10:33 So the prayers of the saints make a difference, don't they? 10:37 "Then many will give thanks on our behalf 10:39 for the gracious favor granted us 10:42 in answer to the prayers of many." 10:47 What this says to me and I'd like to get your input. 10:51 When everything is going smoothly in our life, 10:54 it is easy to get to the point where we rely on self. 10:58 Absolutely. 10:59 But when times get tough and we are overwhelmed, 11:03 and we realize there's nothing that we can do. 11:08 It sends us to seek God for His help. 11:13 And sometimes I think that the hardships God 11:19 allows in our life and I believe 11:22 this with all my heart, is for our spiritual benefit. 11:25 Because we should be living in a constant attitude 11:28 of dependence on God, don't you agree? 11:31 And so this is something that even in ministry 11:34 and there's so many times here at 3ABN, 11:38 where we get down to look at the budget, 11:41 you look at what's going out and we say, 11:45 "It's' not possible, hallelujah." 11:47 That's a two hander, and we look to the Lord 11:49 and He delivers us, doesn't He? 11:51 Amen. 11:52 He hasn't failed us yet. Amen. 11:54 And that's speaking of 3ABN and what we are about to be, 11:59 isn't it 33 years old in November, 12:02 is that what it is? 12:03 And He's been faithful the whole 33 years. 12:06 So we, you know, what is it, we have no fear of the future 12:11 when we look at how God has delivered us 12:13 and taking care of us in the past. 12:14 Amen. 12:15 And when I look at my personal life, you know, 12:17 what I'm still here, I'm still alive 12:19 and I'm still doing well. 12:21 And so I can say the same thing. 12:22 You know, people that say they don't believe in healing, 12:25 well, you should, you're still alive. 12:27 And I'm sure we've all had every opportunity 12:30 for the enemy to do us much damage. 12:33 And so, yeah, God never fails. Amen. 12:35 I think hardships come in 12:36 many different shapes and sizes. 12:38 Absolutely. 12:39 You know, its many different colors you could say. 12:41 And so as I think through the ministry of 3ABN 12:43 and I'm sure you can look in your own life 12:45 and see and think about times where... 12:48 Times have been tough. 12:49 I mean hardships come in the form 12:51 of financial hardships 12:52 or it could be spiritual hardships 12:55 or emotional or physical, or family. 13:00 I mean, there's many relationships, 13:02 many different types of hardships. 13:04 And in this scripture, we're talking about 13:07 the scripture in 2nd Corinthians 1. 13:09 My favorite verse is verse 10. 13:12 The 2nd part it says, "In whom we trust, 13:15 that He will still deliver us." 13:18 Amen. 13:19 And to me, that means in the darkness, 13:21 in the night, when it seems like all is lost, 13:24 I can still look up to Jesus and say, 13:26 "I know, I can still trust You. 13:29 I know I can still have faith in You." 13:31 A quick story. 13:33 Just yesterday I was talking with a woman on the phone. 13:35 And she called in and she said, "Jill..." 13:37 She said, "I know we're supposed to have 13:39 a mustard seed of faith. 13:40 But I don't even have a tenth of a mustard seed. 13:44 I'm just going through this hard time in my life 13:47 and I don't even have... 13:48 I feel like I hardly have any faith." 13:51 But God has given to everyone a measure of faith. 13:55 Yes. 13:56 And whether we feel like it's itty-bitty or it's large, 13:59 in the midst of that darkness, we can reach out to Jesus, 14:04 and know that He will hold us by a hand 14:07 that will never let go and know that He can grow 14:10 and strengthen that faith 'cause faith comes by hearing 14:13 and hearing by the word of God. 14:15 Amen. 14:16 And if we look at Him as our deliverer, 14:17 we can set our hope on Him. 14:19 Dee, you had a comment? 14:21 Also, I want to add to that, that, you know, 14:24 sometimes our hardships, we don't have that relationship 14:28 with the Lord yet. 14:29 As a child, I don't know if I want to say 14:31 my life was difficult but it was very painful. 14:34 And I was aware of the Lord and I know that I reached out 14:38 to Him at one time but I didn't hold on to Him 14:41 and I let Him go. 14:43 But He held on to me through all of that. 14:47 So sometimes when we feel very hurt and very... 14:52 and so much pain, we can hardly breathe 14:54 or we don't want to live any longer. 14:57 God is holding on to us and we just don't know it. 15:02 So hardships, is such a different facet 15:06 and I think He views it differently than we do. 15:10 The other thing we have to consider is, 15:11 sometimes when we go through hardships, 15:15 everyone has freewill. 15:17 So, yes, God allows certain things in our lives 15:21 but sometimes some of our hardships, 15:25 we don't bring on ourselves. 15:27 And sometimes it's other people's choices 15:30 that bring hardship on us because each of us has freewill 15:35 and we want freewill for ourselves. 15:38 But God gives freewill to everyone. 15:41 So other people's freewill sometimes brings great hardship 15:45 or pain into our lives. 15:46 Absolutely. 15:48 That's when God really reaches out and carries us. 15:52 Why don't we just kick this off by talking about... 15:55 Let's be specific and give you some personal examples 15:59 of when we have... 16:01 Something has come into our life 16:03 that was a great hardship but then at the end, 16:08 God turned it into... 16:10 It was always a blessing in disguise. 16:13 Mollie, I know you've got a good one. 16:15 Well, I'm going to share a scripture with us. 16:19 And it's Proverbs 20:14 and it says, 16:24 "If thou faint in the day of adversity." 16:27 Now that's what we are talking about, 16:29 isn't it, days of adversity. 16:30 You ever been through days of adversity? 16:34 But it says, "If you faint in the day of adversity, 16:36 thy strength is small." 16:38 And in my amplified Bible, written by that scripture 16:41 and I believe it was 1986 that I made my little notation 16:46 in my amplified Bible. 16:48 It says, "I will never faint in the day of adversity 16:51 because I'm strong in the Lord and in the power of His might." 16:54 It sounds good, doesn't it? 16:56 1986, nearly married, 16:59 well, had been married but, many years. 17:02 Hal and I were in the ministry we were doing well. 17:05 Two beautiful children, life was good. 17:08 I had never been through adversity. 17:11 On that side of adversity, 17:13 I was baton of faith and that's a good thing. 17:16 Yes. 17:17 But, you know, when find out what you're really made of, 17:20 is when walk through that adversity. 17:21 Amen. 17:23 Let me share another scripture, its Isaiah 48:10. 17:26 "Behold I have refined thee, but not with silver. 17:31 I've chosen..." 17:32 this is God talking. 17:33 "I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction." 17:38 Now have you ever heard this statement 17:40 that your character is forged in the furnace of affliction? 17:44 There is truth to that. 17:46 Because on that side of adversity, 17:48 when I was walking in a pleasant meadow, 17:50 I call it "Ivory tower we live in." 17:53 When you're in your ivory tower, 17:54 you can say... 17:56 you can say things like. 17:57 If my husband ever did that, I would do this, honey, 18:00 you don't know, until you walk through. 18:02 What you gonna do? 18:04 So you walk through some furnaces of affliction. 18:07 You walk through some hard times, 18:09 you're gonna find out the metal you're really made out of and, 18:12 you know, that's vitally important for you to do that. 18:15 I walked through a very difficult time, 18:18 it's probably... 18:20 Oh, I don't know, I'm gonna say 23 or 24 years ago 18:23 and I thank you, Lord, long time ago. 18:27 And I won't go through all of that I lost, I lost a lot. 18:33 You lost everything. I lost everything, okay. 18:35 And it wasn't from my actions, 18:37 it was the actions of somebody else. 18:40 And so during that time, 18:42 it would have been so easy to say, 18:43 "I'm gonna quit, I'm gonna give up." 18:45 And everybody would have understood 18:46 because "Bless her heart, 18:48 look at what she's going through 18:49 and look what has happened." 18:51 And on top of all of that, I was diagnosed with cancer, 18:55 bad stuff, you know. 18:56 And so then I found out what I was made out of 19:00 and this, girls, this is the truth. 19:02 There were times when I would think 19:04 I just can't, I can't go through this. 19:06 And so I would want to lay down, just go to bed, 19:10 cover up my head and just give up. 19:14 And... 19:15 But I had done something through the years, 19:17 something that all of you have done 19:19 and I hope you've done and that is I had faith 19:21 on the word of God and I knew 19:24 I had too much of God's word in me. 19:26 And about the time, I would think I'm gonna 19:30 just fold it up and lay down. 19:33 There was something in me and it was the power 19:35 of the Word of God that was in me. 19:38 And it was like God would just breathe His breath of life 19:41 upon that word and it would flame up with in me. 19:44 Have you ever seen those little toys when your children, 19:50 they were filled with air, they were plastic 19:54 and the children would punch them, 19:57 they were little punching bags.. 19:58 And they would go... 20:00 But in a few minutes, the air in them... 20:02 Not a few minutes but a few seconds, plop, 20:04 they would pop back up. 20:06 Well, that's how I felt, like the enemy would 20:08 knock me down but there was so much of God's... 20:11 The power of God had worked with in me. 20:12 Now remember how did that word get there? 20:14 I had to put it there. That's right. 20:16 It didn't just hop in there. 20:17 You have to study the Word of God and allow. 20:20 So I was just gonna give a plop, 20:23 I would pop back up. 20:24 No, I'm not... 20:25 "I'm overcomer by the blood of the lamb 20:27 and the word's my testimony. 20:28 No weapon formed against me will prosper, 20:30 but what I lay my hand to will prosper. 20:31 I'm like a tree." 20:33 Well, anyway I would just... if the word of God would 20:35 just start rolling out of me. 20:37 But that is where your character is forged. 20:41 Your character is forged when you are 20:43 in that place of adversity. 20:45 Let me give you one more scripture, 20:46 then I hush. 20:48 "The refining pot is for silver and the furnace for gold, 20:52 but God tries your heart." 20:55 Where is that reference? 20:56 That is Proverb 17:3... 20:58 And now how did He turn that into? 21:01 You went through, you lost your home, 21:03 you lost so many things, everything. 21:06 How did God turn that around? 21:08 Why was it a blessing in disguise? 21:10 Because I came out the other side. 21:13 See, it's not what you're saying 21:16 on this side of the adversity, 21:20 the affliction that you're going into. 21:22 Like I said, in 1986, I was spouting. 21:27 It's what you do here in the midst of it, 21:31 that forges your character 21:33 and shows you what you're made out of. 21:35 And then as I came out the other side, then, you know, 21:40 Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, 21:42 when they were in that fiery furnace, 21:43 of course the same person 21:45 was with them in their fiery furnace, 21:48 as was with me in my fiery furnace. 21:50 Now that's just a fact. 21:51 A one look into the Son of God 21:53 walked me through my difficult times. 21:56 But it says, they came out 21:57 and they didn't even smell like smoke. 21:59 You know what that means? 22:00 They weren't bitter, they weren't angry, 22:03 they didn't have... 22:05 they didn't have animosities, they came out forgiving 22:10 with clean hands and a pure heart. 22:12 And so what God did for me in the midst of that, 22:14 there was somebody, a friend that called me 22:17 and said, "Mollie, the day is gonna come, 22:19 when you're not going to be able to continue where you are. 22:23 And when you come to that place, 22:25 just give me a call, I have a job for you." 22:28 And what happened then was, my friend hired me 22:35 at Three Angels Broadcasting Network. 22:37 Well, remember what the name of this ministry is? 22:39 This is the Mending Broken People Network. 22:43 Well, I want you to know I was a broken person 22:47 when I came in into this ministry 22:49 and through a friend named Danny Shelton 22:53 and the others here in this ministry, 22:56 they took me in and they loved me. 22:59 And, you know, what they did? 23:00 They let me teach Sabbath school, they did. 23:04 And I wasn't even an Adventist, I don't think we're supposed 23:06 to tell that, because I don't think 23:08 you're supposed to... 23:09 I don't think if you're not an Adventist, 23:10 just don't think you're supposed to... 23:12 But they were just loving me and then holding on to me 23:14 and pulling me in and they healed me 23:17 and now I'm healed. 23:18 Amen. 23:20 At the time of your lowest, could you have imagined 23:23 that God was going to take that and turn it around 23:27 and look at the life that He gave you, 23:30 that's so amazing. 23:32 See, when you're at that low point, you... 23:36 you think nobody loves me, everybody hates me... 23:40 Now I'm gonna go eat a worm. I'm gonna go eat worms. 23:43 But the truth is God never leaves you. 23:46 He never forsakes you. 23:48 And nobody is gonna get out of this life 23:53 without going through some adversities, 23:55 or else shall be of all people most shallow 23:58 with no depth about you 24:00 and you won't know what metal you are of either. 24:02 And what does that scripture reference in Proverbs 24:05 that says, "If you faint in the day of adversity, 24:07 your strength is small?" 24:08 Yeah, Proverbs 20:14. 24:10 I mean that one spoke to me. That's powerful. 24:12 "If thou faint in the day of adversity, 24:15 thy strength is small." 24:16 But, you know, what I occurred to me 24:18 and this is true in your case, is that, 24:21 because, you know, it's like... 24:23 "Well, Lord, how can I be strong 24:25 in the day of adversity?" 24:26 Nehemiah 8:10 says, 24:28 "The joy of the Lord is your strength." 24:32 "And in the presence of the Lord, 24:33 there is fullness of joy. 24:36 And the joy of the Lord is your strength." 24:37 And how do you come into His presence? 24:39 Absolutely. Worshipping. 24:41 God inhibits the praises of Israel. 24:44 So you absolutely... 24:47 When you were down and you felt like 24:49 your strength was small, 24:50 the joy of the Lord from the word 24:52 kept coming up in you and God raised you up, 24:55 to so much better purpose 24:56 than you could have ever imagined. 24:58 Well, the Lord was... 25:00 It was true. "Greater is he that's in you." 25:02 And He's in you through the power of His word. 25:04 Amen. "Then He descend the world." 25:05 That's a true statement. 25:07 But, Mollie, even when you were going through all of that, 25:10 I know that you were a blessing to me 'cause I came to 3ABN 25:16 while you were still in the midst of all of that. 25:19 And yet, because you hung on to the Lord 25:23 and you walked with Him, I was unaware of a lot of that 25:26 but you were a blessing to me. 25:28 Even as you were struggling to survive, 25:31 you reached out a hand to me, to help me survive. 25:35 And so God takes adversity and He uses it. 25:40 And after you came out the other side of all of that, 25:43 I've seen time after time where God has used 25:46 what you went through to bless others, 25:48 to help others, to give them a hand to get through 25:51 what they were walking through 25:53 because you now have an understanding 25:55 that you would have never had before. 25:57 Because it's easy to say to people, 25:59 "Oh, the Lord will see you through this." 26:02 But if you haven't walked through something 26:04 with the Lord, you don't know what it's really like 26:08 trying to walk through that adversity. 26:10 So you give an added strength and an added blessing 26:14 to everyone that you reach out to now. 26:16 Amen. That's right. 26:17 What an incredible testimony. 26:19 You know, I mean, I just think about how your life, 26:21 Mollie, has blessed my life so much. 26:23 And I think about 2nd Corinthians, 26:25 we started there, 8 and 9. 26:26 But 3 and 4 talks about, "God is the God of all comfort 26:29 and He comforts us." 26:31 So we can extend that comfort to someone else 26:34 and that's what God has done in your life. 26:37 Not that God wanted that to happen, 26:39 of course He didn't. 26:40 But at the same time, we live in this world of sin, 26:43 other people's choices, whatever. 26:45 I love what you said, Dee, with that free choice 26:48 because many times the hardships 26:49 we experience are due to maybe someone else's choice 26:53 in our life or just the world of sin we live in. 26:56 But in the midst of that, you turned to God 26:58 and His word was in your heart and that testimony, 27:01 God bought you through on the other side. 27:03 And you can minister to people all over the world 27:06 as a result of the comfort He's given you 27:08 and that's powerful. 27:09 You say, amen. Yeah. 27:11 I know that you also have a story, Dee, 27:13 that's why we chose you to come today. 27:16 It's kind of like Mollie, it's hard to know 27:18 what story you tell but I'm going to... 27:20 I'm gonna talk about the thing that is difficult to understand 27:24 how it could ever be a blessing. 27:26 And probably the hardest time of my life is 27:29 when I lost my husband. 27:31 It's very difficult to understand. 27:34 My husband had plans for the Lord. 27:37 He had... 27:38 We had turned our lives around, we were living with the... 27:42 Going to church, we had committed 27:43 and submitted our lives to the Lord. 27:45 So we were now Christians 27:46 and we had been for several years. 27:49 And David had plans that he wanted to do 27:53 for the Lord. 27:54 So how could he be struck down and taken from this life 27:58 in the middle of that and not allow 28:00 to fulfill his plans for the Lord? 28:02 So even though I don't understand all of that 28:06 and why, I can look back and see certain things. 28:11 I know that I was very depended on David. 28:15 David was 6'8'' and weighed 210. 28:18 He was a big man and he was very protective 28:21 and he took care of me and I leaned on him. 28:25 So that is one purpose I can see when I... 28:28 If I had lost David before I was a Christian, 28:30 I'm not sure I would have survived it. 28:32 Yeah. 28:34 And I couldn't prepare to lose David. 28:36 You can't prepare for the loss in your life 28:39 even if you know it's coming at you. 28:40 Yeah. 28:42 But God steps in somehow and He carries you. 28:46 When I lost David, I was very much totally lost. 28:50 If you'd ask me at the time, I would have said I'm fine. 28:53 But I look back on that and I was not fine. 28:57 All I could do was hide in the Lord 28:59 and that's what I did. 29:02 I literally said, Lord, okay I'm Yours, 29:05 I'm completely and totally submitted to You. 29:08 Because I didn't know how I would go on 29:13 making a living, I didn't know 29:14 how I would ever have a home or... 29:16 There was just so many things, without David 29:19 it's like I lost everything, even though I didn't. 29:22 I felt that way. 29:24 Because I didn't see 29:26 how I could do anything without him. 29:30 So that is when I had to completely 29:33 and totally lean upon the Lord. 29:36 Isaiah... 29:37 Someone before I left and moved out here, 29:41 someone gave me on a wall plank, Isaiah 41:10. 29:48 Which says, "Fear not for I'm with you. 29:53 Be not dismayed for I'm your God. 29:55 I will strengthen you. Yes, I will help you. 29:58 I will uphold you with my righteousness right hand." 30:03 Why would He give this to... 30:05 He knows where we're gonna be when He gives us to us. 30:07 The reason that we have to know this and read it is 30:10 because He knows we're gonna be there 30:12 when we're gonna need it. 30:13 So I hung on to that plank, I put it on my wall, 30:15 I looked at it, I read it. 30:18 When we're with little children, 30:21 what do we say to them? 30:22 We say, if we see danger or something going to happen, 30:25 we say, "Hold my hand." 30:27 We don't necessarily have the time 30:30 or explain to a child why they need to hold our hand 30:34 and sometimes they are too young to understand. 30:36 So we just tell them what to do because we see 30:40 what's happening. 30:41 So this is God's instruction to you because He knows 30:44 what's gonna happen. 30:46 He knows when you're gonna be knocked down, 30:49 when you're unable to understand why. 30:54 I never was angry at God but I didn't understand 30:57 why He would take David when we were walking together 31:01 as a couple and becoming stronger 31:02 in the Lord and had all these plans. 31:06 So I just hung onto Him having no idea. 31:11 But because I did... 31:15 In Proverbs 3. 31:20 Proverbs 3 and 5. 31:23 It's sometimes hard to find things 31:25 when you are in a hurry. 31:28 And you think you know where they are at 31:30 and we are not finding it. 31:33 Proverbs here we are at 3 and 5. 31:38 Verse... Okay. 31:40 Starting with verse 5, "Trust in the Lord 31:43 with all your heart 31:44 and lean not onto your own understanding." 31:47 Yes. 31:48 "In all your ways acknowledge Him 31:50 and He shall direct your path." 31:53 I knew perfectly well that when you had a loss like that, 31:56 losing your spouse, you're not supposed 31:57 to be making major decisions 31:58 'cause you're not thinking straight. 32:01 So there is no way I was really thinking straight 32:04 and all of a sudden, before a year was up, 32:08 God directed me because I was leaning on Him, 32:12 trusting on Him 100%. 32:14 He brought me to 3ABN. 32:17 I left my home, I left everything I knew, 32:20 I left my family, I left the dog. 32:22 I couldn't bring all that stuff with me, 32:24 I came to a totally strange place 32:25 where I didn't know anyone and to a brand new job, 32:29 a totally different career that I didn't, at the time, 32:33 think I had any background in. 32:35 Because when I came to 3ABN, 32:38 I didn't even have an exact job. 32:40 It was like, "You come, we'll figure out 32:42 what you are going to do." 32:45 I think that's happened here before. 32:47 Yes, but it hadn't happened to me before. 32:49 It's like I don't know anything about television. 32:53 But when I got here... 32:54 And someone asked me, "Well, what is your background 32:56 that you got hired in this job?" 32:57 And it's like, I don't know. 32:59 But I look back and I see God had used David to teach 33:04 and guide me and prepare me for the job 33:08 that I stepped into. 33:10 It was like amazing as I look back 33:12 and see the history of it. 33:16 How could losing my husband ever be a blessing? 33:19 Well, one, there was no one to lean on 33:22 and trust or anything, except the Lord. 33:25 I had nowhere to go but the Lord. 33:27 And He took that and He gave me a career 33:32 and put me some place 33:34 where I would grow in amazing ways. 33:37 He put people in my life that I would have never met 33:40 any other way. 33:42 Being here at 3ABN, I hope people have watched me grow. 33:47 We have. Absolutely. 33:49 Very... 33:50 When I came here, I was grieving. 33:53 And since people here didn't know my husband, 33:56 they'd never met him. 33:58 And it had been eight months, people think you're over it 34:02 and you're going on and they... 34:05 Mollie gave me comfort. 34:07 I think she understood to some degree. 34:10 But here I was faced for so much 34:15 and I could only lean on the Lord. 34:18 I have a little, 34:21 another little thing at my house 34:24 that has these proverbs in it. 34:26 And it is a little girl where it's talking about 34:29 lean into me, trust me. 34:31 And it's a little girl swinging on a swing 34:34 but it's only held by God's hand. 34:37 Amen. Amen. 34:38 And I have that, where I see it every morning. 34:41 So I remember that. 34:43 No matter how many friends and family I have here, 34:46 no matter how safe and secure I feel here 34:48 because of this family, God is the one 34:52 that actually holds me in His hand. 34:53 Absolutely. Amen. 34:55 But you can't see all of this, 34:56 you can't understand all of this. 35:01 I think that when God puts us in many different situations 35:06 and He allows different things, it's because He needs 35:10 to let us prove to ourselves that He will carry us. 35:15 Yes. Oh, absolutely. 35:16 There's so many disasters 35:18 and look at what's going on right now. 35:20 People are hurting and they have lost everything 35:23 in a different way, maybe it's physical, 35:25 maybe it is a loved one, we don't know 35:27 because of the things that are happening 35:28 in this world right now. 35:31 There is so much pain and so much challenge 35:34 and adversity and leaning into the Lord, 35:40 trusting in Him only, not on our spouse, 35:43 not on our friends, not on anything 35:45 and anyone else, we can really know 35:50 what that actually means 35:51 and forge our character that we can stand. 35:55 Absolutely. 35:56 Thank you for sharing that, Dee. 35:57 And I know that God has given you 36:00 a wonderful life as well 36:01 and you've been a blessing to so many people. 36:03 Absolutely. 36:04 Jill, do you have a little story? 36:05 Absolutely. 36:07 As you each were talking, to me, 36:09 we're talking about when hardships 36:11 are blessings in disguise. 36:13 And to me, three of the blessings 36:15 in my own life that I've experienced 36:17 through hardship and then I'll share a story. 36:20 Is number one, I've experienced God in a deeper way. 36:24 I think hardship either pushes you toward God 36:27 or it pushes you away. 36:29 And it's not to do with the hardship, 36:31 it has to do with my response to the hardship. 36:33 So I can either allow the hardship 36:37 to help me experience Jesus in a deeper way, 36:40 experience as Peter talks about the fellowship 36:42 with his sufferings and experience that 36:45 or I can allow it to push me away. 36:47 The second thing is, hardship enables me 36:49 to exercise faith and trust in God 36:52 because when you're going through something difficult 36:54 and painful, you can't see the future, 36:57 you can't see the next day or even the next moment. 37:00 And I know there's been times I felt like I'm in a midst, 37:03 shrouded and I can't even find the face of Jesus. 37:06 And I want to be close to Him and want to know Him 37:09 but I can't feel that. 37:11 That's when we exercise faith and trust in God. 37:14 And number three, hardship helps me 37:18 to exhibit God's character. 37:20 One of my favorite scriptures is Hebrews 12:11. 37:23 "Now no chastening for the present, 37:26 seems to be joyous." 37:27 None of us want to go through hardship. 37:28 I mean we wouldn't signup for it, "Oh yeah, 37:31 here is the signup sheet. 37:33 Let me have some hardship." We don't want that. 37:35 Now no chastening for the present is joyous, 37:38 we don't want it but it's grieves 37:40 or it's painful. 37:41 Never the less, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit 37:46 of righteousness to those who are exercised by it. 37:50 So what does the author of Hebrews say there? 37:54 Just simply that trial produces in us, the fruit of the spirit, 37:59 it produces in us the fruit of righteousness, 38:01 produces in us the fruit of Jesus. 38:03 So I'm trying to think of a trial 38:07 that was a hardship that God turned to a blessing, 38:10 something that comes to mind 38:11 and I've shared this on 3ABN before. 38:13 Is Greg and my... 38:14 My husband Greg, our journey of infertility. 38:17 And thinking that... 38:21 When you first get married, now our journey, 38:23 Dee's journey occurred before she came to 3ABN. 38:26 And, Mollie, your journey occurred 38:27 just before you were hired on here at 3ABN. 38:31 But this journey occurred while we were at 3ABN 38:34 'cause I moved here when we got married. 38:37 And I remember just the pain of that, 38:41 you're thinking, your hopes, your dreams growing up, 38:44 you know, I'm gonna get married and then I'm gonna have kids 38:47 and that just seems like the natural order of things. 38:50 And when we had been to the doctor and they say, 38:52 "Wait a year." 38:54 And then we waited a year and then we went up 38:56 to St. Louis 'cause they have more specialists. 38:58 And then we discovered, "Okay, it's rare. 39:01 We don't know what's the matter with you guys, 39:03 but basically you're not going to have kids." 39:06 And I remember the pain of that and lying awake at night 39:10 and crying and talking to Greg and feeling like 39:15 it was the devastation of hopes. 39:16 Now your's might not be not having kids, 39:19 some people want to get married. 39:21 And they just cry and say, 39:22 "God, I wish I could find a spouse. 39:24 I wish I could have a godly spouse." 39:25 Or I'm in the midst of a divorce 39:27 and why is my marriage falling apart? 39:29 We all have dreams that are some how crumbled 39:34 to ashes at our feet and there was a scripture 39:36 during that time. 39:38 I've actually never shared this scripture 39:39 publicly on air before 39:41 but I think I'll share it today. 39:43 It's in Isaiah Chapter 54. Isaiah Chapter 54. 39:48 Now, Mollie, you talked about the Word of God 39:50 being in your heart. 39:52 I think for me the two keys that helped me was number one, 39:56 the Word of God, number two 39:58 was choosing to accept it with joy. 40:03 The joy of the Lord is your strength. 40:04 And every morning I would get up 40:06 and when those feelings would come, 40:08 when that sadness or that oppression 40:11 would come back, I would say, 40:12 God, I'm choosing your way. 40:15 God, if it's Your will for us not to have kids, 40:19 I accept that. 40:21 I'm choosing Your way. 40:22 And the scriptures, Isaiah 54:1, it says, 40:25 "Sing, O barren, you who have not born. 40:29 Break forth into singing and cry aloud, 40:32 you who have not labored with a child." 40:34 And I thought, God, this is me, right? 40:37 I haven't had any kids and yet I'm supposed to sing. 40:41 And then it says, "More are the children of the desolate 40:44 than the children of the married women." 40:47 So what in the world is God saying here? 40:49 "Enlarge the place of your tent, 40:51 let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings. 40:54 Do not spare, lengthen your cords, 40:55 strengthen your stakes. 40:57 For you shall expand to the right and the left, 40:59 your descendents will inherit the nations." 41:04 What does that mean? 41:05 "And make the desolate cities uninhabited." 41:07 Well, to me God just spoke this promise 41:09 and put it in my heart, 41:11 that I could have spiritual children. 41:13 God would not make me for some reason, 41:17 not a physical mom 41:19 but He would give me spiritual children, 41:22 descendents by sharing the Word of God, 41:24 by sharing Jesus with other people. 41:28 And to me this journey, it began, 41:30 what, 12-15 years ago. 41:32 So now what God has done, we're talking about hardships 41:34 being blessings in disguise. 41:36 What God has done in my heart, the Psalms 37, 41:40 "Delight yourself in the Lord and He gives you 41:42 the desire of your heart." 41:44 So as I surrendered, 41:45 as I chose to accept it with joy, 41:46 what God did is He actually removed 41:49 the desire for children. 41:51 And He replaced it with a passion for ministry. 41:55 So to me, God said, "I said no to what you thought was best 42:00 because I had a better plan." 42:02 And that better plan is for you to serve Me, 42:06 for you to minister, for you to share 42:08 the Word of God. 42:10 So praise the Lord for what He does. 42:11 Now, you know, Jill, I've really never spoken 42:13 publicly about JD and I went through the same heartache 42:17 and I do know that it was extremely difficult 42:21 and actually the Lord brought this scripture to me as well. 42:24 And someone at church said, 42:27 "You already are a mother of Israel." 42:29 You know, and I thought okay. 42:31 But it was very difficult and painful thing. 42:33 Let me quickly share where, our time is going... 42:37 Let me share the story that comes to my mind. 42:41 It was, I'll say... 42:43 Even though I can think of so many painful things 42:46 that I've been through in the past, 42:48 the year that was the worst year of my life, 42:52 God turned it around to be the best year of my life 42:55 and that was the year that I had vertigo 24/7. 42:58 I was spinning like a top, 43:00 it didn't matter if I was sitting, 43:02 or lying, or what I was doing, it was just a total spin. 43:06 I couldn't read the Bible. 43:08 I mean I got to where I couldn't read, 43:10 my little pupils were like pinpoints. 43:12 I couldn't watch television. 43:15 And in the midst of this, being like a drunken sailor, 43:19 I ended up, we... 43:21 I had to move out of our home on my own 43:24 because JD was out of town, 43:27 ended up at my mother-in-law's farm, 43:31 their parent's farm. 43:33 She was diagnosed with cancer. 43:35 My father-in-law was diagnosed with Alzheimer's 43:38 and I'm trying to care for them when I'm so sick. 43:42 But it was... 43:43 I had lost my church, I'd lost everybody 43:46 and I was just out in the country sick 43:48 and trying to take care of everyone else. 43:50 And the interesting thing was that 43:53 I actually got to the point of... 43:56 One night I was so down, JD was traveling a lot 44:00 and I was so down that when I got in bed, I thought, 44:05 "Now I know why you tried it, Momma." 44:09 And what I was referring to is my mother had attempted 44:12 suicide on several occasions. 44:14 At that moment, I never understood 44:17 because my father was killed in a plane crash 44:20 when I was six years old and when my mother tried that, 44:23 I never understood why a loving mother 44:26 would choose to end her life and leave two little girls 44:32 on their own in the world. 44:34 And I wasn't suicidal. Don't misunderstand me. 44:38 I hadn't gotten to the point of considering suicide. 44:42 But I got to that point where I had 44:44 an emotional identification with the reason why. 44:47 And the reason why people attempt suicide 44:50 is they have lost all hope, they have lost all hope. 44:56 And one of my favorite scriptures 44:58 is 1st Corinthians 15:13 that says... 45:01 that says that, 45:03 "God pours His hope... 45:06 that God of all hope pours His hope into our hearts 45:09 by the power of the Holy Spirit." 45:11 He causes us to bubble over with hope. 45:14 But what happened is the Lord, 45:17 the next day I was just like help, 45:19 Lord, if I could get this low, what if I could get lower. 45:22 And the next morning, the Lord clearly spoke to me 45:26 and what He said... 45:28 And when I say this, I don't mean 45:30 it was an audible voice but the still-small voice 45:34 of the Lord spoke to my mind, the Holy Spirit impressed 45:37 this thought upon my mind saying, 45:39 "I said before your life and death, chose life." 45:42 Well, I was... 45:45 God and I have always had a very open relationship, 45:47 He knows what I'm thinking. 45:49 So I said it anyway and I said, Lord, I've chosen life, 45:52 Jesus is my Savior. 45:53 If you mean anything more than that, 45:55 You're gonna have to tell me because I'm in no shape 45:58 to figure this out. 45:59 And at that point the Lord instructed me 46:03 to get into His word to pray His promises 46:08 over my life. 46:09 Well, here I was, I could barely read, 46:11 so I'm trying to look up some healing promises. 46:15 In the first two weeks that I was speaking 46:17 the Word of God over my life, there was no faith. 46:20 I mean, I would do it and I thought, 46:22 Lord, did You really tell me to do this? 46:25 But then, one day as I prayed that and said, 46:28 Lord, where is my faith, I don't understand. 46:30 He led me to three scriptures, Isaiah 55:11 which says that, 46:35 "God's word does not return to Him void but it accomplishes 46:40 every purpose for which He sent it." 46:42 Jeremiah 1:13, it says, "You have seen correctly, 46:45 for I am watching." 46:47 This is God speaking. 46:48 "I am watching over My word to perform it." 46:50 And then Romans 4:17, where it says that 46:53 "God gives life to the dead and He calls things 46:58 that are not as though they already were." 47:02 So that's what I was doing. 47:04 I was claiming His promises, calling on my healing 47:09 as it already existed. 47:11 I was returning the word to God, 47:13 He was watching over it to perform it. 47:16 And He didn't heal me right away. 47:19 Four months later... 47:20 I mean, I was in that spin for a whole year. 47:22 But four months later, He did heal me. 47:25 The thing that happened in those four months 47:27 is that my faith became so strong 47:31 and God completely... 47:33 I would be loathed to go through that again. 47:38 But at the same time, 47:40 I'm so glad that I went through that. 47:42 And it brings me to a scripture I want to share with you. 47:46 Because what we need to do 47:49 is when we're in a difficult situation, 47:52 look at it as an opportunity for growth 47:56 because often our hardships are blessings in disguise. 47:59 Let's look at James Chapter 1:2-4. 48:04 And what this scripture says is this. 48:09 "Consider it pure joy my brothers," 48:12 whenever you face trails of many kinds... 48:15 "Because you know that the testing 48:18 of your faith develops perseverance. 48:22 And perseverance must finish its work 48:26 so that you maybe mature and complete, 48:31 not lacking anything." 48:33 Our faith, Mollie, you said it so well earlier. 48:36 I mean I'm gonna paraphrase but our faith 48:39 and the depth of our character can be measured 48:41 in how we respond to adversity. 48:44 And sometimes we're quite lacking 48:48 in all of that. 48:49 See, God's purpose in life is not to keep us from pain. 48:54 God's purpose in life is to create in us 48:57 the image of Jesus. 48:59 And Romans 8:28 says, "That He will cause all things 49:02 to work together for good, for those who love the Lord 49:05 and are called according to His promise." 49:08 And it goes on in verse 8:29 to explain that. 49:12 "For those He foreknew, He predestined to be 49:16 confirmed to the image of Jesus." 49:18 So the thing that you think how can God work out this? 49:24 I've lost my child, 49:25 I've lost my husband in an accident, 49:27 how can God work this out for good? 49:30 He can because He can help you 49:33 to develop more into the character of Jesus. 49:38 And to be a Christian means to be Christ-like. 49:42 So the basis for joy, 49:44 when we look at a difficult situation, 49:47 our basis for joy is just simply to know 49:51 that the testing of our faith produces perseverance 49:56 and perseverance then is what helps us 50:00 to mature into the image of Jesus. 50:02 We only have a couple of minutes, closing, 50:04 quick closing thought from everyone. 50:07 Scripture I like Philippians 1:19. 50:09 Yes. 50:10 "I know that this will turn out for my deliverance," 50:13 Or King James says, "For my salvation." 50:15 Through your prayer and the supply of the supply 50:18 of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." 50:19 So you might say, 50:21 "No one's even praying for me, we are." 50:23 Those of us here at 3ABN are lifting you up in prayer 50:28 in your need, in your time of hardship 50:30 and I know that God can turn that situation around for good. 50:35 Thank you, Jill. Mollie? 50:36 I'm gonna give two scriptures out of Deuteronomy. 50:39 Deuteronomy 1:30, "The Lord your God goeth before you, 50:44 He shall fight your battles." 50:45 And then, Deuteronomy 3:16, 50:48 "Be strong and of a good courage, 50:50 fear not, nor be afraid of them, 50:53 for the Lord, thy God, 50:54 He adheres that death go with thee. 50:57 He will not fail thee, nor forsake thee." 51:00 He will never leave you nor forsake you. 51:02 Thank you, Mollie. Dee? 51:04 I want to end with just the one part of Isaiah 41:10 51:08 where it says, "Yes, I will help you." 51:11 If you can't do anything else, just, yes, 51:14 remember God will help you, He will be with you, 51:17 when you can't breathe, you can't talk, 51:20 you can't even think. 51:21 "Yes, I will help you." 51:23 He's always there. Well, the Lord is there. |
Revised 2018-03-22