Welcome back to Words of Life. If you've missed our past couple of episodes, we're in our third week of a series all about gratitude with worship leader and pastor April Christina Farmer. In this incredibly powerful episode, Bernie and April discussed remaining grateful in the midst of some of the most challenging seasons of our lives.
Okay, so this is pretty straightforward. Rejoice always. That's the verse. Pray continually. That's the verse. Give thanks in all circumstances for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.
Nice. What's God's will to give thanks in all circumstances or all the circumstances? That's that tough part. That's that part where like, God, how in the world? People feel that all the time.
Like how in the world? Why would you let this person go? Why would you let me walk through that? Why would you allow this sickness to overtake my body? And Jesus is like, I know, baby, I know it's tough, but you don't know what's coming.
I do. Will you trust me? Will you trust me in spite of what you can't figure out? Will you trust my heart for you?
Will you trust me and know that what I am producing in you will accomplish what I have for it to accomplish? And that's when it requires of us letting go of our own agendas, letting go of our own expectations. This is when we say, you know what, God, this life is not about me. This is where Galatians 2 20 comes in. I have been crucified with Christ.
Crucified. It's no longer I who live. My life is not my agenda, but it's Christ who lives in me in the life. I live in the flesh.
I live by faith in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. So if he loved me and he gave himself for me, I gotta trust him. I gotta know that he knows best. All right, Lord, if I gotta be sick, if I gotta take this pill every day, if I gotta do this to get to where you want me to be, okay. If healing looks like chemo, okay, I'll go. If healing looks like I gotta go see you my days in two months, okay, Lord, if that's what you say, what do you want me to do in the next two months? If healing looks like I take this pill every day for the rest of my life so I don't have seizures or I'm not schizophrenic and I don't say this willy-nilly, I have a mom who is schizophrenic and takes a pill every day and it was so hard for her to reconcile. Why do I have to take this pill every day? When you told me all I had to do was have faith and ask and you were going to heal me.
Yeah, he did. He gave somebody the science to put some stuff together to make your balance come back in balance. So take the pill every day, but we don't want it that way. We want what we want, but God knows. As we were kind of preparing for this episode, we were referencing the scripture in James that says, consider it pure joy whenever you face trials of many kinds because the testing of your faith develops perseverance. It's the perseverance part that I wasn't planning on, the testing of my faith.
You weren't planning on a stroke shortly after being married at all, at any point in life. And then the confusion that comes with that and getting all of your faculties back, that's scary. I had a scare in 2020 when I had turned 50 and I was under the impression you're supposed to get a colonoscopy just to make sure that there's no cancer evidence or whatever.
That's just what everybody told me. And they found something that was suspect and made some recommendations to remove any opportunity for it to metastasize. And I'm in that protocol now, five years later, where you have a regular checkup. Year one, another colonoscopy. Two years later, another colonoscopy. In January, I should have another. But in the middle of all those, you have these appointments where they're just checking your blood count or your blood and all the levels.
I was just at a doctor on Tuesday who said, I need to go see someone about something that she sees on my body that she's concerned about. And man, April, I will testify to the goodness of God. I will shout it from the mount tops, but for me to tell you that I'm not scared.
It's just so crazy. And I know that there's people out there that are hearing this that have those same challenges or that are scared. And I want to tell them, but this is what the scripture says, but I'm also human.
What I can say is because of our relationship and people in our lives that have gone through trials of many kinds, I can say this authoritatively and definitively, we are not alone. Never. I will never leave you nor forsake you. I recall the word of the Lord. I recall when Jesus found out Lazarus died. He waited four days.
I think it was four days and he gets there. The sisters are like, what the heck? Had you been here? And Jesus literally said, it's for your sakes that I'm glad I wasn't. Because what you're going to see is for your benefit and for the benefit of people years from now who get to read this story.
And while he may not have felt present, he had a plan. And so even with that natural human fear, I don't want to go to this appointment. I don't know what they're going to say. God already does.
He already does. And so now, all right, Lord, I'm just going to trust you. I'm going to hear what they say, but I'm going to trust you. I'm going to hear what they say, but I'm going to thank you for being present. I'm going to thank you for already knowing. And I'm going to thank you for equipping me with everything I need.
Every person I need, every resource I need to walk through whatever this is going to look like. Because he's good. He's always been good. And you know that. And our listeners, they know that. And I know sometimes it's hard to remember. But that's why the scripture says in all things, give thanks. When it's hard, give thanks. And this is why I love our scriptures, because our scriptures give us an opportunity to look back.
To look back. Yeah, it's scary now. But remember in twenty twenty when it was scary. You got through that.
Remember in twenty eighteen when it was scary, I was there with you then. Why do you think I would go anywhere? He's a good daddy. He's the best daddy. And I know for some people, they don't have good natural fathers. And so it's hard for them to see God as a good father. But don't let that keep you from experiencing the love that God has for you and the faithfulness that God has. Don't let it blind you from the truth. You know, the truth that God is good. He's always been good. And we've got record of it.
Yeah. Decades, centuries of his faithfulness. I'm glad that we could afford to bring April in for this counseling session for me. I know that our listeners, I know that someone needs to hear this.
April, it could be me. But I pray that God uses it for his good. I know that he will.
I know that he can and has in my life. And it's OK to admit that you're scared. Yeah. Or that you're tired.
Yeah. Or that you're feeling lonely or that you're feeling upset or depressed. These are all natural things. But can I just encourage you to find help?
Reach out to someone. If you're in any of those moments, open the word of God. It is true. It is faultless.
It has never failed. I need you to hear this. I am scared. And that's OK. I long to have that community and those hugs and those encouraging words and the tears that do bring joy.
I know that there's a story on the other side of this and I want to claim it. But in the moment, you're just kind of sitting in it. I choose joy. I want to laugh and I want to talk about the goodness of God. And that's why you're here.
The days I cannot see have not been planned for me. This way is best. This city, I'm in this land. Father in heaven, I thank you so much for who you are. You are a good, good father. And in your goodness, Lord God, I thank you for reminding us that you are always present, that you are always there. So for those that are going through a challenging season, God, it's tough. It's hard. They're frustrated. They're angry. They're disappointed.
They're broken hearted. I pray, Lord God, that you would help us to remember that you said that you would be here for us. And I pray, Lord God, that they would allow the Holy Spirit to be your comforter, your guide, your strength, whatever it is that they need. I pray that you give us the boldness to say, God, I need this in this moment and open up our hearts and our hands to receive everything that you have available to us. You love us so much, and we thank you for this.
In Jesus' name, amen. I sincerely hope that you're being as blessed by this conversation as we were while recording this. April has a gift for dropping Christ-sized truth bombs of wisdom that really meant a lot to me. You know, and in this episode, I think one of the most beautiful things was, you know, Bernie spends so much time and energy pouring into others. And even specifically on this show, making sure that we're really offering the best content, the most powerful content that we can for our listeners. And during a difficult season that he's going through right now with some health challenges, it was beautiful to hear April get to pour into him. And so, Bernie, thank you so much for being vulnerable, and April, thank you so much for just loving on our friend. If this series is sparking a story of yours that you would like to share with us, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email, hello at wordsoflifepodcast.org, or visit our website, wordsoflifepodcast.org. Thank you so much for listening.
We'll see you next week. God bless. The Salvation Army's mission, Doing the Most Good, means helping people with material and spiritual needs. You become a part of this mission every time you give to the Salvation Army. Visit salvationarmyusa.org to offer your support. You can subscribe to Words of Life on your favorite podcast store or visit salvationarmysoundcast.org. Join us next time for the Salvation Army's Words of Life. Thanks so much for listening to Words of Life. We want to thank the team at Life Audio for their partnership with us on the show. Visit lifeaudio.com, where you'll find dozens of other faith-centered podcasts in their network. They have shows about prayer, Bible studying, parenting, and more. Thanks again for listening. We'll see you next time. The Historical Jesus Podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate His acts and teachings. Join me, Mark Vinet, on this fascinating journey through time exploring the many great works of Christian theology, literature, architecture, music, and art inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.
