This is the Truth Network. Welcome to Hope in the Morning. turning tragedies and tears into testimonies of hope. Philippians 4, 12-13 proclaims, I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.
whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through Him who gives me strength. My guests to day have faced a multitude of trials and sorrows, and yet they have learned to turn their pain into praise, and their tears into a testimony. John and Daisy, welcome to Hope in the Morning. Thank you.
Thank you. So good to be here. It's such a joy to have you guys. And I want to start out by just talking about how, even just the book and even before the book, when I started Gifts of Hope, Daisy, you were kind of hand in hand with me with a lot of that, of kind of coming up with the ideas of how we could. Do gifts that would comfort grieving people.
And out of that was born the book, Hope in the Morning, which you guys both wrote in. We actually have a story from each of you. Can you guys take us into a little bit about what each of you wrote in the book, Hope in the Morning? Go ahead. Do you want me to go first?
Yeah, go first.
Okay.
Well, it was a culmination of a couple of trials, but mainly the first one was when we lost our daughter Hope.
So we had a stillbirth. We experienced having a stillbirth that 18 weeks and Um You know, really just the scripture in 1 Thessalonians 5, 16 through 18 is really the place that I lived: rejoice always, pray without ceasing, and give thanks in all circumstances. Very challenging to do, hardest thing of my life that I had to walk through. But I did share a little bit that our delivery room became a place of worship. We were able to praise the Lord in the midst of all of that.
And um So that's just one little piece. Yeah, and one of the things I think for Daisy and I both, and what I was reflecting on in the book as well, is you go from Being somebody that's receiving care to somebody that's giving care, and that you know that you can't do that in your own strength. Jesus says in John 15:5: apart from you, you can do nothing, and it's Really, a testimony of first off going through. a season where we went through the delivery of our little girl, Co. And you're not knowing what to say in those moments.
And Ecclesiastes 3 says: there's a time to be silent, there's a time to speak. And one of the things that I learned from that was: again, you see God's presence through. Through all of it, and he shows up when you don't know what to do. And then the other aspect of that is right on the heels of that the next year. I was diagnosed with Hodgkin's lymphoma and I was diagnosed unfavorable.
I wasn't supposed to be here. God and his grace guided us through that.
So it was a compounded season of walking through loss together, experiencing things through that to where even, you know, like I was angry for six months. I didn't even know why. And it was like, oh my goodness, it was back to these things. And but then going through cancer, it was you, you, again, you're navigating something else and you realize like you're not the hero of the story, God is. That at the end of the day, God in His grace is allowing these things.
To shave off the prickly edges of your heart to turn you into the person that he desires to be. It's not to be the hero of the story. It's not so that you have this badge of honor to say, you know, with like an honorable suffering, to where it's like you go through cancer, go through loss. But God is doing a work in you through that to do a work through you in that as well. And even the verse that you brought up at the beginning.
That whole verse radically changed because a lot of the times we look at it and we think, okay, well, if I have nothing, I can do all things through him. But the other side of it, too, it's learning how if you have everything. To depend on him because the balance of the sometimes we focus in on the nothing. But what Paul is saying in that passage, too, he's saying, When I have plenty, because the temptation in our plenty is to say, I don't need you as much, Jesus, as I do in my suffering. But the beauty of it is this: when you're in that place of nothingness, and he becomes everything.
That changes.
So when you have everything in the world, it becomes nothing. You know, I think it's important too for our listeners to know that You, John, are a pastor of a church. And so, here, you know, I think oftentimes we think, and Robbie, you've probably experienced this too as a pastor, where people just assume that if you're a pastor, you've got it all together. You know all the answers. You know how to handle every trial that life is going to bring your way.
And John, you touched on this a little bit, but one of the things that I loved in your story, and it might be a funny thing to say you love, but I really appreciated the fact that you wrote in there that when you went to the hospital with Daisy to deliver hope, that you wished that you knew what you should say to Daisy, but you said, I didn't. And I went into the bathroom and I closed the door and I fell on my knees and I cried. And I just said, Lord, I don't know what to do and I don't know what to say. And that God just put it on your heart to be still. And be still with your wife.
And I think that can be a very powerful thing for those of us that. are under the leadership of pastors to know that There are moments when you don't know what to say or do, and you just surrender it to the Lord. Every day. At least 20 or 30 times. And again, people can't relate.
They can't relate to the person that can, you know, take a No, you d you don't know it, but my wife was in a horrible car crash yesterday. Oh, wow. In fact, she flipped her car about six times. Wow. And there was a period of time where I'm on my way to the hospital.
So I I You know, I was right there in that place. And it's fascinating as as you guys were talking, I couldn't help but You know think that He had me looking at what I call the comfort chapter of the Old Testament, which is Isaiah 40. And this idea that those that get to rise up on the wings like eagles Are not the strong and the mighty, it's the faint and the people that are broken and the people that are weary and. You know, those are the ones that, and so, and he lifts you. And there's a beautiful thing that eagles They only like flap their wings like Two or three times an hour.
They can go two hours sometimes without flapping them.
So there is not a lot of striving for them up there. They are just being lifted by the wind. And they can lock their shoulders in a way that they don't have to use their muscles at all to extend their wings. And so when you think about how that is that you're being lifted, and I bet you felt that. And fascinatingly, too, by the way, I don't know if you know, I had non-Hodgkins lymphoma with a very similar diagnosis a number of years ago, so I couldn't help but relate to that.
Yeah. Yeah, how's your wife doing, by the way? She is home. Wow. She just had a broken sternum and um She is um it's a miracle.
Like Yeah. The guy behind her had a dash cam, so I unfortunately had to witness what the car did. Oh my goodness. It just was one of those things. But God is amazing and He protected her life and sometimes that happened, but along those lines.
Did you feel that idea that God locked your wings so you didn't really have to use a lot of muscle? Yeah, I I I go back and I think like you know Bringing all this together, even with being a pastor. is You know what? I'm a pastor, but I'm a sheepdog. We serve one shepherd.
And the reality is: this is like, I Suffering Is used by, I'll even put it this way: it's not even just about suffering, it's about endurance. Because all trials pass, you don't pass all trials. The reality is, God wants us to bear up under those things so that we have the strength to soar. And sometimes, even when I look at that passage, you know, there's something that precurses that, which is waiting on the Lord. And I have pictures of eagles and things like that.
Like sometimes I just want a dude sitting on a bench, just going like this, like, you know, just, God, I'm waiting, you know, I'm waiting. And then people come by and they say, they say, oh, one day God's gonna do something with this. One day, one day. And we give this false hope. And you're like, no, he's doing something now.
And that's where, in those moments of, again, being a pastor. It's like we got to get rid of all of these prima fascia, candy-coated realities that we put up in order to impress people. Like, there is a raw reality of who God created us to be. And here's the beauty of it. Though we are all different, he created us to be like one.
He created us to be like Jesus. And there should be that real raw honesty. And that's where going back to that. To that bathroom floor. I mean, I was just like in, you know.
Curled up on the ground, like, God, what is going on here? And revealing again to myself, like John, there is nothing that you can say, there is nothing in your wisdom, there is nothing you've experienced that can. that that that that you can speak into this from your own knowledge. And a similar thing I would share is when John was going through cancer treatments, our son Jack was born.
So that was. There was one day where I was nursing Jack, and we had a little Jane was seven, and Brooke was four. And John was in the back, and he was literally throwing up in the bathroom, sick from chemo, just sick. I'm nursing Jack. Jane is in the room crying on her bed and praying, God, please, like, please don't take my daddy.
Please let my daddy live. And then our daughter Brooke was on a little bouncy ball going down the hallway. She's like, That's gonna be fine, God's gonna heal us, it's gonna be great. And I'm like, What is going on? Yeah, but I think.
I just echo what John just shared of like, Coming to the end of yourself and realizing, God, God, you have my husband. You're holding him right now. I can't even comfort him because I'm trying to comfort my son. And you're going to be Jane's comforter, and you're going to be Brooke's comforter. And one thing I will say.
That we did, you know, just had counsel from this is that God has used that trial in our children's lives to form them into incredible like lessons that they, that I, you know, God can't teach otherwise, right? Just things that are instilled in their life at a young age. Where you can see it. You can see that they have a depth of comfort and empathy and insight. And so it is a gift, even though it is a it's not anything we would choose.
But I see it now. I can really see it as my kids are have grown. God has really done that. When we come back, we're going to talk about how the Holy Spirit was a comfort to each of you, and also a little bit about what you should and should not say to other people that are in those similar circumstances, because you guys had great comments on that in the book.
So, join us in just a moment on Hope in the Morning. What do you say when a loved one faces deep loss? How do you recover joy when you find yourself in the valley of despair? Learn from honest testimonies of trials and tears, and be encouraged that in Jesus there is hope. Oh, in the morning.
Visit hopeinthemorning.org for grief resources or to make a donation in your loved one's honor. Have you ever struggled to comfort a grieving friend? John 11:35 says, Jesus wept. When Jesus was told by Mary and Martha that their brother Lazarus had died, Jesus wept. Today on Hope in the Morning, we invite you to learn what it looks like to weep with those who weep.
Learn what it means to sit in the ashes and be encouraged that even in our morning, there's hope. His name is Jesus. Visit hope in the morning.org to learn more. As a grief counselor with years of experience, I can testify that Hope in the Morning is one of the best resources out there. Out of all the grief books I've purchased and that others gave me, this is the book that has helped me the most.
These stories don't showcase the individuals as heroes who battled and conquered the worst. The stories of Hope in the Morning provide a marvelous perspective, allowing the listener to focus on Christ rather than self. These stories remind me of who my Savior is and that there is truly hope in the morning. To learn more, visit us at hopeinthemorning.org. Welcome back to Hope in the Morning.
We're joined today with John and Daisy Cox, and they are talking about really different floods of sorrows that they have experienced in their lives, not the least of which were the stillbirth of their daughter, Hope, and John going through a cancer diagnosis, and actually going through that while Daisy was pregnant with your son that you had following your pregnancy with Hope. Um You guys talked about how these experiences, you've seen those mold. The lives of your children. And Daisy, how it comforted you to know that. The Lord had the very life of your husband in his hands, and that he was going to encourage your daughters, that he was going to comfort them.
How did you guys feel? feel the comfort of the Holy Spirit during those seasons of hardship. You can start. I can start. Countless weights.
Yeah, sorry, I think it's you come back and you realize, like, you know, this the Holy Spirit is He, you know, it is the person of God who is with you. And, you know, I go back to Elijah, you know, after when Elijah went and ran. The very first thing God did, send an angel and he just touched him. And then he fed him. And there is those moments where you understand, like, when the Spirit is going to guide you through a season.
He's going to walk you through in different ways. There's sometimes where he shakes you, and sometimes where he comforts. And In those moments, again, it is, you know, God takes away anything that you can do. You can't save yourself, you can't save your daughter, you can't do anything, and leads you to a place. of emptiness of self so that you can Rest in the fullness of him.
And therefore live in the fullness of him because again that's the goal the the the goal of this whole journey of life is to delight in god and to that's that is that philippians three ten three eight through ten to where i count all as lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing jesus christ my lord and that's what the holy spirit was doing in those seasons i remember being i remember sitting in the chemo chair and i'm you know going through facebook and you're you're walking through and you're kind of like why are all these people enjoying their lives i'm in a chemo chair you know it's like it's like true you know like they should you know i'm we're going through trials and then all of a sudden god pressed upon my heart just like What are you talking about? Yeah. Like you're on a mission here. to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ to the nurses, to the doctor. I'm sending you to a place where you don't want to go.
So that you can be the messenger for an eternal gospel. And so I would have these things where they call them pushes, where they would give you your chemo and they would have to give you this, you know, all the nasty stuff over half an hour. And I'd have a nurse for a half an hour putting this into my arm and this radioactive stuff. And I'm like, man, I have an audience for 30 minutes. And it was the Lord just pressed upon me.
It's like. Don't just endure to get through. Understand, like this is the mission. I'm doing something in you, I'm doing something through you. But to understand, like my work, this is my work.
Like, we can pray, God, grow our faith. We can pray, God, use us. And this is him using us. And I was going to say, Emily, one thing when you asked that tangibly, you were a comfort through the Holy Spirit to us. John had, you know, 13 different pastors come out every other week and preach for him during that, which is a very rare thing to even hear about.
But we were a part of a fellowship of churches that just showed tangibly the love of Christ. And the pastors would visit us, they'd bring cards or gifts from their church families. But you really are a picture, truly, in our lives of someone that really understands and is in tune with the Holy Spirit. And so the gifts that come out. Are from the Lord, right?
And you know, they're from God because they have this supernatural impact. And that is something I think that God has taught us through this as well: just being more sensitive to tangibly loving people in the Holy Spirit, being prompted by Him to do those, you know, things that we wouldn't have thought of, or and they ended up being from Him.
So, when you guys have been such an encouragement to me over the years as well, and one of the things, which I'm sure Robbie can hear this now that he's getting to meet you guys, like one of the things I love about you guys is that both of you are just so genuine. Like, there's no pretenses, there's no Yeah. I don't know. You're very approachable, you know, and that is something that I have really respected about both of you. And Daisy, over the years of getting to know you, like you're kind of my go-to girl, you know, when there's something heavy on my heart, like, I'm like, I got to tell Daisy, I got to text Daisy, I got to call Daisy.
And a big part is because I know that you, you know, scripture, you love the Lord, but you love people well with no pretenses, with no, there's no. era as if you have it all together. And so it makes it so that I feel very comfortable coming to you and telling you all the places that I don't have it together, which is many places.
So there you are. I mean, you got a situation where. You know, clearly some stuff was forged in you guys through a really painful furnace.
However, you can't help but see, you know, 2 Corinthians Chapter one kind of coming to life as you know, you've been comforted with all comfort that you could comfort others. And I was sitting there thinking, wow, I bet when somebody goes through something like this, the first lady, I have found out that my wife is my secret weapon. Like, I have no idea. You know, I don't think pastor's wives get anywhere near close to the value that they are to the church and the fact that they're so much more approachable. Not that I don't want to be approachable, but they just are.
And especially my wife isn't. And I sense that as well from Daisy. And so. By the same token, I'm wondering, like, John, if you had... an opportunity now that obviously Other people are getting diagnosed.
And I have found it's a very tricky place when you are healed. Mm-hmm. I in my case I was. Yeah. However, some of the people you're ministering to will not be.
Yeah, and then you have all the families around you And You know, you're dealing with that, and I'm sure you've dealt with it. I'm curious, you know, what your insight might be there. Yeah, no, I think that's a fantastic question. Um It really comes down to this is that. Our hope is in the eternal.
Is a lot of the times we're like, God, deliver me from this.
So that I can be with my family, walk through life more. And sometimes God says no. Yeah. And the comfort of the Lord. Walks through those things.
Like, I lost my dad this last year. It's been, it's been, you know, gut punch. He was my best friend. Talked to him every single day. And he died of a brain disease that literally takes eight out of 60 million people.
They don't even know how you get it. And I was like, God, why? And one of the things that I think suffering does is. It brings you Again, to the end of yourself. To where, even two years ago, it was the first time in my life where I didn't question the sovereignty of God, I didn't question the power of God, but I knew, and I knew I was wrong, but I was questioning His wisdom and His goodness.
How are you? God, is this good? Is this wise? And the thing is, this is like, John, your hope is not in today. Your hope is in forever.
The eternal hope that we have.
So, when I'm talking to people, if we're saying, hey, look at me, I'm a testament. God can heal. Yes, he can heal. But the deeper healing that we need is is the is the healing of our of of our um of our Nature of our sin. We need the forgiveness of Jesus.
We need the gospel to wash over us because when the gospel is centered on our minds, We're able to say, God, do what you will. And God, do what you will because we are tools in your hand until you bring us home. The season that we're in right now. It's a season of labor. It's it's not Just a season of just exploring this world.
It's a season of seeking to redeem it. in the name of Jesus. And so there is a day coming where Hope will be sight, faith will be sight. But I think in those moments, Is that the testimony that I carry is not look at God can save people? Sure, he can, but the testimony is: no, God took a dirty, rotten, stinking sinner like me that has no business approaching the creator of the universe, but he reached down into that pit, pulled me up, breathed me and breathed life into me.
And even though I wrestle and I fall on my face every single day, he's so gracious to pick me back up to where one day I'll see with new eyes him in absolute perfection. That's the hope. I think a practical side too, kind of touching on what you were saying and touching on the things not to say that you had touched on, John, during your story, is, you know, he talks about the fact, and you probably came across this too, Robbie, is that when you find out that someone is diagnosed with cancer or some sort of rare disease, don't open with, oh yeah, I had an aunt that died from that. You know, that's not your opening line. But instead, as you say, John, you said pray to the healer for healing, especially when you're praying, you know, in an open prayer circle in front of the wife and the children or the husband and the children or the parents.
If it's a child that's ill, we can go with confidence to the throne and plead for things like healing. While still encouraging people, that even if God says no to that, there is still a greater healing that can be had. But. You know, I know that you talk quite a bit about that in your what not to say, and I think that was great and. Daisy, something else that I will forever remember that you said to me at the beginning when we started this book.
And actually we wrote a poem called Hope based on what you had said. But I love when you say that sometimes we need to sit in the ashes with people. And especially as believers, like you just, you have to actually sit there. Not yank them up from the ashes, not say, okay, time to get going. It's been a year, it's been two years, time to get over it.
but sit with them in the ashes and grieve alongside them. Grieve grieve what sin has done in this world and what it has robbed us of in this world. But then, when they're ready, offer them that hand up and walk alongside them. Like you're there for the long haul. And I think you guys are both a good testimony of Being there.
Through and through for not only your friends, but for your congregation as well. Um Yeah, Emily, one of the things, just to go back to what you were saying, which I thought was so good. And if there are people listening to this. Is when people are navigating, and you're asking what do you do in those situations when they're walking through it. Yeah.
Always pray in hope. Yes. Always pray, God, deliver them from this. Don't pray, but if you don't. Mm-hmm.
Just God can do it.
So I think in those moments, that's one of the things we learn. Like, I don't pray with people and go, okay, God, you know, save them from this cancer. But if you don't, Mm-hmm. I want to lean fully into the person of God, which goes back to, again, that journey. And Daisy is the one who exemplifies that for me.
Go ahead. I was just going to say, and he is. They will be healed of cancer. They will be healed of cancer. That's right.
It's when, you know. Yeah, yeah.
Well, and just like you said earlier, John. These trials, we can look at it even in the midst of them as they are for our good, that He has called you to. A specific place somewhere where maybe you wouldn't have access behind those hospital doors because you didn't have that illness. And it doesn't mean that it's comfortable. It doesn't mean it's something that we pray.
I think oftentimes, I can't be alone in this, but when we pray, Lord, please strengthen my faith, in the back of our minds, we're thinking, uh-oh. What's he going to task me with? You know, I think that's just human nature of thinking, like, oh, okay, Lord, grow my faith, but if you could make it not too painful, that would be. Or humility. Yeah, right?
That's tough one, yeah. Yes, both of those.
Well, John and Daisy, thank you so much for joining us today. And we're going to talk when we come back, we're going to talk about the book that you wrote, which is Refueled. Refueled, which is talking about the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit is a comforter, amongst other things. But he's a comforter. And so, John, was refueled.
I first want to, I want to ask out of curiosity, was refueled something that you began before your dad got sick? Yeah. No, it was uh It was actually something where, I mean, again, just. being real and raw like the you know the We're not recording right now, right?
Well, we are for the podcast, yes. Oh, yeah, we are. No, you already knew that, sorry. No, I'll go back.
Sorry. It's backstage, so they really liked that part, by the way. They're like, oh, this is wrong. There we go. No, no, it's the hidden camera portion.
Yeah, no, no, I have literally. Pastoral TMI time. Yeah, you can shot it. I'll share anything. No, I think the.
The balance of it is like the last several years we've walked through have been challenging. One of the things I think that we've navigated is like what we've talked about is noble suffering. That's what I call it. Is when you go through a trial of loss. When you go through trial of cancer, of endurance, that's noble.
That's heroic to people. But one of the things we've seen in ministry is ministry is challenging. And when you're going through the suffering of betrayal, when you're going through the suffering of you know, of a false witness, whatever that is. I would almost call that shameful suffering, to where there's noble suffering that you're cheered on for. But then there's shameful suffering where people want to keep their distance.
And in, and there's also collateral damage, like truthfully. I would go through cancer 10 times over than through ministry suffering. There's a reality to that. Yeah, the weight and the hurt, the heartache and the heartbreak, and the relational side of it. Like physically, we'd rather endure some of that over like the heartache or heartache.
I mean, that's an important thing for people to hear because, you know, we. We want to love our pastors, and that's what scripture calls us to, also, is to love and support our pastors, and yet. What you're saying is so true. I mean, you guys are literally in a different state now because of some things that had gone on with church situations and trials that you had faced. Not not Even to mention the fact that that happened in the midst of other trials that you were facing.
You know, as soon as you moved, Daisy, you lost your precious mom who had moved to be near you where you were at before. And Yeah, I mean, you guys really have. I mean, when we label your title Faith in Floods of Sorrow, there was really no other title to give you. I mean, I just feel like. you guys have been through so many floods of sorrow and yet I I look to you guys very much as examples of people that just continuously you go under that wave and you pop that book and you're like, Lord, you're still here.
Okay, I can swim another mile.
So I've got to know 'cause you know, I too have experienced the um What do they call it? The backhand of fellowship? Oh, that was great. It's painful. It's incredibly painful, but I bet you may have been like me, where you were put in a position.
Like I have got to preach Like, I've got to give a sermon to people that despise me for reasons I have no idea. Like I can look out in the congregation. It's like they're gnashing their teeth. It's very real. And so I I'm you know just p Because I can talk to you and you're there.
I'm very curious, how did God come for you in that situation? Yeah, I I Hmm. One thing I've learned is like, do it always have preemptive strikes? Always know that a challenge is coming. You're either going into a challenge, you're coming out of a challenge, or you're in a challenge.
It's just the reality. And so. Knowing like that, I remember at the beginning, the first thing I thought about was Moses. Like what kept Moses out of Canaan? And You know, just to paraphrase.
The people blame Moses for everything God did. And Moses eventually said, Fine, you don't want water? I'll give you water. I'm the one that's going to do it. Yeah.
And he made it about him. Yeah. And I think in those moments, it's like this is not about me. This is about God. And God is changing my identity.
And to be honest, it's a matter of even looking at How I have to admit my failure, the areas like, God, you needed to humble me in some areas. You needed to take me down a few levels in my view of myself. You needed to walk me through these things, not so I can become a victim, but so that I can live in the victory. Of my identity in Christ. And that's where I.
I think that we need to have this direct honesty before the Lord. I think it's missing in our relationships with God and the church to where we need to be so real with them. We need to say, God, I don't desire you, and I know that's wrong. God, I'm questioning, are you wise? Are you good?
And I know that's wrong, but God, would you change me in that and show me? And that's where, again, this book, you know, I called it. From spirit, you're refueled from spiritual exhaustion to abundant life to where. I was preaching a sermon in Galatians, and I started looking at. The different manifestations of the Holy Spirit, you know, a dove, fire, oil, water.
Wind. And you see how personal he is within each one of those manifestations. And so, within that, I'm like, okay, God. I want to walk with the spirit.
So I started looking into each one of those things. And that's really what this is: it's a devotional, it's not a theological treatise. It's just a daily devotional where the first week deals with the dove, which is the peace and the purity of God, and then the fire, the purifier to take away the things he needs to. And then the third week is oil, which is his presence and empowerment. And the last week is water, which is refreshment.
And that's the journey that God wants us to constantly. Yeah. You know, walk, walk through. And so, you know, I wrote this from a place of weariness. I wrote it from a place of desperation.
Because it's like in Lamentations 3, you know, Jeremiah says, hope is dead. And then a few verses later says, But this I called the mind. Hmm. Your mercies are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness.
And so there's that. There's that understanding where the voice in my head needs to be the voice of God through the pages of scripture. He needs to be the one that is fueling my mind. He is the one that's not guiding me through some ethereal life, but through a real present reality with him. Mm-hmm.
So has that been something that you have found is a useful tool for other people? Have they come to you? I know it's a very newly released book, but have you had people come to you yet and say, wow, this really brought me encouragement and comfort to just remember who God is despite my circumstances.
So, I will tell you what is a really sweet gift is our elders gave this to our whole church. Our church, because John is currently on a sabbatical for the next three months, and so they're going through it together as a congregation in the month of July. But we've already been hearing and receiving messages and pictures. He sent a couple copies to his friends who are pastors, and they've been blessed by it.
So, that has just been an encouraging, just an encouraging thing. And the way that it came about truly came about very Just very sincerely, you know, of just, I want to seek the Holy Spirit. I want to see that. And so, well, I never, I never wanted to be a pastor that wrote a book because I never wanted to be a person that said, Have you read my book? You know, it's like it's not opportunistic.
It really is out of a matter of like, wow, this really blessed me. And I want this to bless others. And I think the idea of it, again, because it's a devotional, it's the purpose of it. Is to be in step with the Holy Spirit, but even the people like I've talked through, talked to, walked through it. You know, people that have had trials, you know, suffering in their life in regards to difficulties from drug use or adultery.
I've talked to a couple of people where. The first chapter really deals with the purity of God, and you're like, Man, I am not pure. And then the second chapter, second week, deals with the fire of God. Where it's like, He's the purifier, He will separate your sin as far as the East is from the West. And you know, going back to the comfort.
You know, there's comfort that we that we need from God. As a result of the fall, And there's comfort that we need in our illness. There's comfort that we need in his presence. But there's also the comfort that we need in forgiveness. that we need that God I've I have failed you yeah Yeah.
you you can forgive me you can you can redeem me you can breathe life into me and that again and again and again and again You know, I think, sorry, I was gonna say, it reminds me of little children, you know, when they have to be disciplined because they have done something that was sinful or something that could even take their lives. You know, as a parent, you have to discipline them. And, you know, I mean, I have four kids, they all respond to discipline differently, but my littlest one, in particular, she has the most tender heart. And so it's like whenever she's disciplined, immediately she wants that restoration. And that's how we should be as children of God.
Like, that's the heart we should strive for: is that when When we are disciplined, you know, and how Proverbs says that a fool despises wisdom and discipline, but the wise man will learn from it. That's how we want to be: is knowing that even in our times of God refining us, which Is, you know, whether that's through trial or through being disciplined because of sin. It gives us an opportunity for restoration with God, which is really what our souls long for. You know, that's the hope of eternity, really, is the fact that we will be restored. The beautiful thing about what you just said is, reflecting back on my last couple days, as John had mentioned in that Isaiah passage in 40, it says, you know.
Those who wait, right? But the word wait there is the word kava in Hebrew. Word is beyond outstanding in so many different ways. But you'll find it first in Genesis chapter 1, verse 9, where God gathered. the waters together.
And the idea of it that starts with the same letter The kuth that starts the word kedosh, which is holy. And to be holy has to do with proximity to God. And so this idea of. Restoration is It's not just waiting, drumming your fingers. It's like pushing in, like, mommy, I'm sorry, right?
And wanting that hug. Yeah, you want that physical closeness. And right, which is fascinating. The book Habakkuk has to do with, and he's got so many koofs in his name. You can hear him, all those cues.
And that whole book is like a big hug. And that's a beautiful thing about that waiting. And, you know, I'd also say that John's answer just kind of took my breath about Moses. This is not about you, Robbie. How many times do I have to tell you?
This is not about you.
Okay, I'm down on the ground again. But that, you know, that was really, really a great answer, John. And Daisy, we keep interrupting you.
So please, this is your. No, no, you're great. No, you're great. I was just thinking about, you know, hope and kind of just some of the things that I learned through that Romans 5, 3 through 5 passage, you know, just that suffering. Produces endurance, endurance produces character, and character produces hope.
It really does. And hope is this holy anticipation of: I know that God is going to do what He promised, and I believe it. The day that we drove home from the hospital, a pastor called us and he actually prayed over us in the car. And one of the things that he prayed was, I pray you show them a thousand reasons why. And I actually started a journal from that because I wanted to see it.
I wanted to see, and I wanted to be on the lookout for it. And now I have literally like 1600 things that I've written down in the past. 13 years, 2012 is when we lost hope, and I'm still filling it up. And one of my favorite Lines are just comments that Johnny Erickson-Tata said was: hope is like holding on to the thin string of a kite. And if we would just let the Lord lift that kite off the ground, that's a picture of what hope is.
Like, if we would just let him do what he's doing, and we could behold it.
So, which is very similar to the analogy of the eagle's wings that you guys had said at the beginning: how God can make our hope soar. Oh, and and she said that it just reminded me That you know, my birthday verse is marked 10:30 because my birthday is 10:30. And in that verse, it talks about he who gives up. You know, mothers, fathers, or brothers, sisters, and all for my sake and the sake of the gospel will not fail to receive 100 mothers. Brothers, sisters, in this present time.
And when I realized that verse at one point, I started counting my mothers like. And I realized, oh my gosh, look at this. And so I was thinking about like you're 1600. I don't have anything close. I should recount.
But what a joy to see. Here it is right in Scripture. It says you're going to have 100 mothers. And I'll bet you anything, if you've been walking with the Lord for a while, you can start counting them down. You got them.
Mm-hmm. Like, for real. Yeah. It's amazing.
So I, and persecutions, by the way, it says at the end of that verse. But nonetheless, I love the 1600, and I love that thought. He gives you this. And then You know, that idea of really, really appreciating it and giving him thanks is awesome. Yeah.
I'd like to ask one more question before we close. And that's just, Daisy, I know that several years prior, you did lose your own mom, and you lost her.
Somewhat suddenly. I mean, she had cancer, and that in and of itself was kind of took you all by surprise. But then her actual death came pretty much by a sudden means, you know, something that you would not have expected. And I'll let you expound on that if you desire to. But with that, did you find that going through that, that you felt more equipped to minister to your husband as he just recently lost his dad?
So yes, her death was very sudden. She actually was diagnosed with a stage one lung cancer, which is extremely rare.
So it was treatable, and she probably had about seven to eight years. But she got sepsis.
So she had an infection and it went into her bloodstream and she was gone within three days.
So it was very sudden. Um And when I was holding her hand, like she was gone, and I was holding her hand, and the first thing I thought of was like, No, we have all these plans. You just moved back here from North Carolina. We have all these plans. And then I can't even tell you, in the same thought with Psalm 139, and these were the days ordained for her.
And they were great days. They were awesome days. And 100%, I believe that it gave me insight and comfort for John. For sure. Like patience and Just, it's just so hard.
It's so hard to lose your parents, and we're so thankful to have had godly ones. Yeah, so. I'm just thankful for the days and that she sought the Lord, and that Jack also sought the Lord, singing like Jesus Loves Me, you know, the end days of just sweet, sweet man. Yeah. So, for sure, it has definitely helped, and it gives you insight, right, to other people that are losing.
their parents and and just you having just lost your dad emily i mean just it's so you know it's so Yeah, I think John, you and I lost our dads pretty close together, right? When did you lose your dad? Oh, in September.
Okay.
We were October.
So I mean, we were just a month apart. And it was just as sudden, you know, it was within months. I mean, it was, yeah, it was. Overwhelming, yeah, but in those in those moments, again, too, it's um, you know. from Daisy You know, she She has been such an enrichment to me just to be able to, like, as a gift from the Holy Spirit, like from her.
Being filled with him to be able to care for me, even when I'm a knucklehead. And, you know, it's. I'm so blessed by that, but the comfort. And being able to understand what it is to lose a parent and understanding more of what she was walking through, it just broke my heart for more of what she endured. But as you walk away, I mean, again, I go back.
I'm like, I praise God, we're going to see him again. You know, I pray God for the hope of the gospel and all of those things, too. You know, we so appreciate you guys being willing to come on here and share your testimony about how the Lord has redeemed all of these trials, but also when you allow somebody to. Come into your vulnerable times, whether it's on that bathroom floor when you lost hope or. or with at your dad's bedside as he's singing hymns and you're singing hymns to him.
That allows people that haven't lost a child yet or haven't had to bury a parent yet to. Gain a small fraction of empathy that helps us walk with more compassion toward one another, which is what helps us. I really think what helps us be the hands and feet of Christ more effectively when we can heart have a heart of compassion.
So thank you so much for being willing to come on and just share your hope and all that you've been through, but the fact that through it all, you still have maintained your faith and your hope. It's our privilege. We are so blessed, and this ministry is incredible. And we love you, Emily. We love you.
And it was so nice to meet you too. I was saying for you guys. It was really fun. Really fun. Yes.
I hope you guys enjoy the rest of your sabbatical, too. That's a special time. Yes. Yes. I was just going to say, Emily, last thing is just breathe heaven's air.
Just the seasons of hope. Man. breathe heaven's air in the darkness and man you will be filled Yeah, that's a beautiful, a beautiful parting word.
So, thank you so much for joining us today, John and Daisy. We so appreciate you guys. Love you guys. Thanks so much. Bye.
Bye. Hope in the Morning is a non-profit ministry that seeks to encourage the hurting. Equip those who walk beside them, and evangelize the lost with the hope of Jesus Christ. to partner with our ministry or to make a donation in your loved one's honor. Please visit hopeinthemorning.org.
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