Priscilla Shirer, Tony Evans: God is With You in Your Suffering | FULL TEACHING ​| Praise on TBN

but when you know he has an

unconditional will that his Sovereign

plan overrides our desires for his glory

and our good and maybe what God wanted

to do was to use our loss which was in

his will

to help others in their loss and their

grief and their hurt and their struggle

because God never wastes bad times on us

so Daddy today

how are you I think the general

Republican people who know if you would

want to know how are you doing given all

the circumstances

well it’s been a a journey obviously uh

after being married for 49 and a half

years to your mom

uh and uh having an awesome wife y’all

having an awesome mother

and an awesome Ministry support it’s but

it’s a it’s a vacant space so that takes

some time to get used to but the good

news about your call is that you don’t

let me drift South long enough because

somebody’s gonna call so uh and then

they always show up and we all have keys

yeah they’d be calling at six in the

morning seven in the morning as

Christian well Crystal will call it two

in the morning so it’s a little

irritating but but it’s appreciated so

uh but that that’s really reflective of

the closest of our family that we’ve had

for all these years and a large part of

that probably the predominant part of

that was uh your mom’s uh consistency

and commitment to keeping our family

tight and so we’ve stayed tight and and

so we’re hanging till we’re uh we’re uh

pushing forward okay pushing forward ups

and downs roller coaster but pushing

forward wait y’all raise to be close and

that’s why we all currently still have

keys to the house because you wanted us

to be yeah but we need to change

everyone now this is a different season

yeah there’s too many keys out there

yeah I’ll be using them Uninvited

you cannot have the keys I can change

the locks oh so the keys don’t work I

can do something terrible you don’t

really love it it’s really Priscilla

isn’t it well I think the worst cheers

she comes and jumps on the bed you know

it’s it’s it’s serious

that’s okay but you’re our dad I know we

want to hang out with you yeah but you

have a family you got oh Lord have mercy

stop she does not every day okay I have

pictures of her as a six and seven year

old that’s what she would do

for the viewers that don’t know

um I I think some people probably

watching are like I didn’t realize that

they were all related that happens all

the time like that that’s the thing

um our family collectively over the last

18 uh 24 months at this point

um we do one of y’all kind of just want

to go through what what happened so the

viewers know why I think the the best of

well it started

um

a couple of years ago now 2018 is that

correct 2018 where our cousin she was

one of our clothes she was really more

like a sibling than a cousin but winter

unexpectedly uh just her heart just gave

out so she was 38 years old and

um literally she was fine one day and

the next day her heart stopped and so

that started a string of losses

over the next two years every four to

six months another family member passed

away and the reason why we’re

acknowledging

um dad’s loss in this is because every

single person was directly connected to

Daddy so and obviously to all of us but

really directly to dad so he lost his

niece that was winter

and then shortly thereafter your brother

passed away then your sister passed away

then your brother’s wife passed away so

all our aunts and uncles on that side of

the family and

um and then we had another cousin pass

away

um and then two daddy your dad in the

same month as Mom

um and then shockingly as well actually

an eighth person passed away because

then my mother-in-law eight months after

Mom my mother-in-law passed away who was

very close to all of us as well

um so we had eight losses in the course

of two years just back-to-back losses so

it has been quite a journey emotionally

yeah it’s been it’s been a lot and a lot

of people

you know up until Mommy maybe they

didn’t really know all of that right

yeah because winter exactly winter and

Mommy but didn’t really know about all

of that

and wouldn’t really think about it

because of how daddy operates yeah he

continues to preach he continues to keep

rolling he continues to build he

continues to encourage and all of those

different things so how do you uh one of

my thoughts is as your son is man this

guy keeps going yeah even while it seems

like things are falling around him yeah

and so how do you keep that up do that

how are you able to to be that faithful

in a season

like that

well I mean it it starts with your view

of God if if God is Sovereign if God is

in control

if you’re going to trust him if you

believe that there is life to come and

if we’re still here and therefore have a

job to do

then while we should while we should uh

be struggling with loss we should be

struggling hopefully and not hopelessly

that’s two different perspectives and

struggle and so when the hope is there

then you keep going even if you’re going

slower than you used to even if you’re

going with sadness or tears or struggles

or uh you know sleepless nights you

still you still go because God is still

true to his word he’s true to his

promises he’s true to his provisions and

he’s true to our our future so so and

there’s still people other people are

grieving too yeah so you know during

this season of covet and race and

politics and economics and all the

global crisis we’re facing we’re not the

only ones grieving yeah so they need

they need they need Ministry too so you

got to keep ministering to our local

flock first of all at Oak Cliff but then

nationally through the urban alternative

we we wanted to to let what God was

doing with us and through us and in our

pain be a Ministry to others as well as

we walk this journey together because

everybody is going to walk this journey

at some point in their life and speaking

of continuing to do ministry that is why

we are all sitting here together is

because we we collectively made a

decision to try to figure out a way to

use what we’ve been facing and how we’ve

dealt with it to to minister to people

so we did something very unique

um we we have a it’s a it’s a book but

it’s like this it’s the conversation

it’s a family conversation we all have

different crazy different personalities

I’m this hyper emotional one uh crystal

is

she’s the smart like logical she’s

really super smart so right here you may

think she’s being quiet but she’s

formulating things that she’s going to

say in a minute that are going to change

your life no pressure

um Priscilla’s this personality as

you’ve seen and very opposed to the

smart one yeah

absolutely I mean she’s also smart and

dynamic but she’s growing up she got in

trouble for talking a lot but now it

God’s used all things for good you know

what I mean he’s worked out I showed you

God is The Miracle Worker yes because

that’s this personality and then

Jonathan’s the the athlete the the

self-proclaimed favorite

um but that’s true but no he he makes a

decision and he goes after it but we get

to talk about how from all these

different personality types how we held

on to to faith in these moments so I I

want to know just just a kind of a

blanket statement a blanket question for

everybody is how specifically given all

the things that we Face collectively and

things you face in your life as an

individual how have you what are some

practical steps you’ve taken to hold on

to faith when life was shaking

you up Chrissy when we talk about

um you Dad and how you have continued to

do ministry I think

while this is definitely

a major major loss for our family

there have been lots of things over the

years that have happened that have been

hard that you all have had to walk

through and what we’ve seen you do and

seen you do consistently and Faithfully

is stay the course we didn’t just see

you and Mom do that we saw our

grandparents do that on both sides so

there’s this Legacy of faithfulness that

has been deposited in us generationally

as a legacy we are not

when people ask me how I’m doing or they

ask any of us how we’re doing I think to

say that we’re able to do that because

of our wiring that’s just a small part

of the the design is also something that

has been gifted to us and granted to us

and blessed To Us by generational

faithfulness

and so while it’s hard it’s not hard

while it has been uphill

it’s been at a pace that’s been doable

and I think at the end of the day what

we have done individually

and what I have done individually

is

you know the Bible says we look to Jesus

who’s the author and the finisher of our

faith

and if I can take a little liberty with

that you know I look to Dad you know I

look at Mom I look at her example and I

say okay if they can do it I can do it

you know and I think that the good thing

is when I share that and say okay it’s

because of family and because of legacy

and because of support and because I can

go to Daddy and say okay Dad this is

hard like I have these questions and I

have that relationship with my dad to do

that

the the good news is for somebody who

listens and says but that’s not my story

well then Dad always tells the story of

course of his dad who didn’t have that

that wasn’t his so any of us get to

start anywhere and if you don’t have a

dad to look at like I’ve been able to

look at my dad or look at our Aunt you

know Auntie or look at her siblings or

look at each other for support you do

have somebody to look at you know

someone who is the author and the

finisher of your faith so my ability to

keep it going is not because I got some

juice to keep it going it’s because

there it’s faithfulness to stand on from

Legacy that I’ve inherited that

ultimately traces its way back to Jesus

Christ like this setup is not a

representation of what we’ve been

through right okay this this is this is

nice what we went through with crocodile

tears yeah what we went through was the

lowest of the low when Daddy told us the

news and ran to the other side of the

room and was bawling crying and and then

Anthony and Priscilla Chase after him

and they were bawling crying and then I

felt like somebody rubbed Icy Hot all

over my body and didn’t even know what

to do I mean you’re talking about going

all the way to the lower the low and and

Crystal talking about those examples

um that obviously being the lowest in my

in my view

um but them holding on to faith through

the lowest of the low like people need

to know that the Evans family ain’t

sitting up here this this is nice that’s

not what it looked like

um this is this is you know year and a

half later or however long we’re able to

use that time uh you can know I wrestled

with God big time yeah I was like man we

prayed your word says this that I was

you know based on the scriptures good

dad always taught take the scripture and

throw it back into God’s face because

God is is you know what I’m saying

obligated to his word his word is

obligated to him so we did all of that

um where two or three gather we had the

whole world praying we had it so we we

did it by the book

and we had an expectation

um that God is going to come through

and it felt like he didn’t it felt like

we just we were just like yeah like

there’s a lot of people feel like that a

lot of people are like yeah you know so

you know is he God or not yeah you know

what I mean and um and so people need to

realize that that’s what it really

looked like it didn’t look like this and

so when we’re watching Mom and Dad hold

on to faith through those times it was

some hard times that looked like hard

times

um that that we had to go through and so

yeah there’s definitely been a wrestle

yeah well the the book is called Divine

disruption

um and I having trying really hard you

have to try really hard for me an

emotional person if you’re anything like

me I know I’m hoping a lot of the

viewers are like me because it’s

sometimes the Lonely World out here in

this family but everybody’s so so strong

but um

it’s called Divine disruption so I I

want to know

finding God in disruptions what do you

need to do to change to get your

perspective to where you can see God

pass because disruption is such a it’s

such a thing for an emotional person

like me how do you see God when when

there’s so much disturbance how do you

get that that that that clear daddy or

Priscilla or anybody but I well you know

what there are many times in the Bible

where people are struggling with God yes

Rebecca wants to know why how long

job’s big question is why did the

righteous suffer you know so it is fake

news to assume that to be committed to

Christ means that you will not suffer in

this world you will have tribulations

John 16 33 says but then he says be of

good cheer I have overcome the world so

the circumstances are never to have the

final say so although they are real that

you have to deal with so the question is

how do you deal with them well a lot of

times what people do

is they want to find God in the midst of

it when they have been built a

relationship with God before it came and

it’s hard to pour a foundation in a

storm you you that’s a hard thing to do

the idea is to increasingly build your

confidence in a sovereign God God has

two Wills he has a unconditional will a

conditional will his unconditional well

means he’s going to do it whether you uh

like it or not because he’s decided to

do it his conditional will means he’s

going to do it if you meet the

conditions well obviously it was God’s

unconditional will to take Mom home at

70 years old when he did because we met

the conditions and he still did it so

that says unconditional will but if you

only believe God has a conditional will

then you’re going to be disappointed

when you when you’ve met the conditions

and the opposite thing happens but when

you know he has an unconditional will

that his Sovereign plan overrides

our desires for his glory and our good

and maybe what God wanted to do was to

use our loss which was in his will

to help others in their loss and their

grief and their hurt and their struggle

because God never wastes bad times on us

he uses them for good times for others

just to your point dad about building

your confidence and your relationship

with the Lord before the storm comes I

think one of the

ways that people can do that I know it’s

been helpful for me I didn’t even

realize I was doing it but actually

writing down and keeping a track record

of when you see the Fingerprints of God

in your life I look back now and realize

I was probably just keeping a little

Journal I’m not one of those people that

journals like every day or you know even

every you know religiously every week or

anything like that but just when

something happens that I see the

Fingerprints of God opening a door or

closing a door that in hindsight I

realized was his best plan for me or I

see something happening where it’s just

what some would consider ordinary but

there’s the traces of God’s handiwork

just moving things around I write that

down because you won’t remember what

happened a decade ago but when you open

up this little book you’ve scribbled

some notes about what God has done and

then you look back and you begin to

actually see how things that seem

disconnected at the time or just seemed

like it wasn’t going your way how you’re

watching God work that out then it helps

to build your confidence when you’re

going through something now because you

realize wait a minute if he sustained me

in my 20s and my 30s and even in my

teenage years when I look back and see

little things I wrote down and I go oh

my gosh the Lord was the Lord was moving

even then to derail me into into a

particular direction

that track record becomes a booster for

you in the current things that you’re

facing in your life so I’ve even done

that with my sons I’ve kept a little

journal for each of the boys I bought a

little Journal when I started when my

oldest was five I went to Ross Dress For

Less in the back corner there they’ve

got these little journals for 5.99 and

I’ve had the same ones for I guess now

15 years and every now and then when I

just see just a little hint in a

question they’ve asked or a conversation

we’ve had or some way I can see God

working and moving and something he’s

lined up for them I write it down

because I want to be able to give it to

them and say look if if he did this for

you then when you hit the bumps of Life

which we all are then you can trust him

because he’s already proven to you that

he’s going to be faithful yeah and

Jonathan you mentioned wrestling with

God which we all watched you do

firsthand because you are the athlete of

the family like you you do this and then

you end up here you work out and you end

up doing but like that’s just kind of

how your mind works but as we talk about

as as we’ve heard these things that were

said I remember I think in chapter nine

of the book you basically talk about

getting the place where you realized

that God’s answer was yes or yes and you

had to get yourself there can you can

you elaborate on that when it comes to

yeah absolutely

um just thinking about you know what Dad

is saying in his conditional and

unconditional will like we met the

conditions so I’m like uh I’m just

waiting I did it the whole time I’m

hopeful yeah whole time yeah we all work

and I’m watching mommy kind of Decline

and I felt like this was a great

opportunity for him

God this is a great opportunity for you

now no you need to take advantage of

this one this is it that’s right because

everybody’s watching yeah um and so I

kind of got to a place where I really

felt was hopeful about it and when he

basically said no that’s how I received

it initially that we did all of this and

you just didn’t come through right um

You didn’t make a way out of out of no

way you know you didn’t do those things

but then God you know in my quiet time

and silence and Solitude I got Clarity

just spending time with God and he just

said you know you don’t understand my

victory you’re complaining because you

don’t really understand what Jesus

Christ has done it was hard for you to

watch your mother die but how much

harder was it to me to watch my son die

so your mother can actually live when I

thought about the life that has been

given in his unconditional will that his

unconditional will even meeting his

conditions was better than what I prayed

for trying to meet his conditional will

um you asked for healing she’s got it

um you asked her to be with family she’s

got it you asked her to be well taken

care of she’s got it you don’t

understand I’ve given you everything you

asked for on a higher level than you

asked for it and you don’t understand it

because you’re a kid you’re not you know

what I’m saying the same thing with my

kids they just don’t get it until they

get to a point of maturity where they’re

able to say oh Dad his will is just best

and and now we can do what my mom always

said with my mom like she’s not yours we

can do what our mom always said your

greatest ministry will come right out of

your greatest misery

and um and keep on going you know one of

the ways me and Daddy encouraged each

other you know through football

is you know in in football every player

has to retire

it happens every time and the players

that are still on the field are sad you

know because that’s the that’s their guy

right

but all you can do is put your head down

and keep playing until you retire too

because you want to hear the coaches say

the same thing to you that he said to

him well done you played hard here’s

your gold jacket enjoy retirement and

that’s what Mommy’s doing she retired

she’s enjoying that retirement in his

rest and we’re gonna put our heads down

we’re gonna keep playing hard that’s

great all the way to the Finish yeah

there are so many things that we had had

to to learn I mean I didn’t realize I

think daddy told me this he thought that

when we were going through this

and and Mommy thought this too she would

look at me and be like are you okay but

it wasn’t a normal are you okay it was

kind of like uh this is the kid that

could fall apart with this much weight

on him emotionally that it was that kind

of are you okay and I all the things

that we’ve talked about all the lessons

that I learned along the way even in the

hard moments of my life I didn’t realize

were training me for this moment in the

book

um I can’t remember what what chapter

would we tell the story of of The Karate

Kid which I won’t tell the whole thing

now Priscilla tells it a lot I mean the

karate kid you know the one with

Daniel’s son and Mr meal yeah

although that was good too yes but the

original one you know Danielson wants

training and in karate so he goes to Mr

Miyagi and Mr Miyagi basically has him

managing his house cleaning cars

painting fences sanding the floor and he

just Daniel becomes extremely frustrated

he’s like you this is not what I’m here

for yeah I came here to train to be able

to be excellent at the craft of karate

and so Mr Miyagi sees his frustration

and he starts throwing punches

and Daniel without thinking about it

begins to block all of these punches and

kicks that are coming his Direction he

did not know that all of that training

that seemed unnecessary and seemed

mundane and just like he was actually

accomplishing nothing

in that mundane training was actually

everything that he needed to be prepared

for the fight he was learning he was

becoming masterful at the craft it just

didn’t look like it in the moment even

as a worship leader and traveling around

and all of us in our different we

collectively do things a lot together

but for me even as a worship leader and

stuff I didn’t know and being in

full-time Ministry I didn’t know that I

was capable of that fight of the fight

we have gone through collectively I did

not know I was capable of that and the

the punches that got the blocks that

came out of me naturally I was like oh I

really do believe this I really I didn’t

know that I believed it this deep a lot

of my faith through that time came

through from you

which you never knew it wild yeah

because you heard you were coming to me

and say

I mean you were

settled in I’m not even worried about it

it’s I already know it’s going to work

out and you would say do you think it’s

weird that I’m so hopeful

and I would say no I’m right there with

you I mean that’s what we were so the

greater the disappointment you know that

we felt but that’s that’s the training

that you had because I believed I guess

I believed kind of along the lines of

what you’re saying like Mommy even

though I don’t want to see her in pain I

don’t ever want to experience that on

any level I don’t want anybody to ever

have to experience watching a family

member

um go through that but I think I just

knew I cognitively and in my heart knew

like

this is our faith will play itself out

that’s the bottom line and you were

right yeah it’s it’s so wild to me um I

didn’t a chapter was it chapter 15 we

talk about well Crystal mostly talks

about doing the right thing along the

way as you are

um all the things we talked about your

understanding that God is is divine our

God is um has a conditional

unconditional will you’re learning about

what it means to really be hopeful but

what about the day-to-day like what do I

do next the right thing along the way

even when you’re hurting can you speak

to that

yeah you know I was literally uh just

recently talking to my daughter who’s 30

years old and whatever she was asking me

um my answer as I answered her you know

I heard mommy’s voice because it was the

same thing you know it’s it’s a new

problem to her but it’s not to me but

one of the things we know Mommy would

say all the time is this too shall pass

um when you have

a history

with God and you know that the thing

that seems the most difficult for you in

a moment

that you’ll get past it and I keep

talking about our history but I even

remember our grandmother saying is you

know Daddy’s a doctorate of Theology and

our uncle was a doctorate of Sociology

he had a doctor of sociology and I said

did people ask you how did you do that

like how did you have these kids that

were so highly educated and she said I

just kept doing the next right thing to

have children who were law-abiding

citizens and were good people like I

wasn’t trying to achieve that right and

I think when people would ask Mommy and

Daddy about us how do you do that like

how do you get four kids who are all

still involved in your church or

involved in Ministry what they were

doing was the next right thing and for

Mommy that was fixing dinner

and the idea that

this was not necessarily the specific

thing I don’t think you could correct me

that you had in mind it was just that we

would love God love each other and be

faithful

um so I think the next right thing is

look at where you are and what I was

saying to my daughter today is often

we’re looking at the big thing and

thinking how do we get through the big

thing Moses asked God the same question

when God stopped by the burning bush and

said all right so it’s time I need you

to tell pharaoh to let my people go

and Moses like how am I going to do that

and God said what do you have in your

hand so we’re often looking purpose and

calling and what am I supposed to do and

how’s God going to get me through this

and we walked with Mommy through that

season one day at a time getting her

what she wanted to drink try to make her

comfortable being there for each other

and so the next right thing is not the

next right big thing it’s usually the

next right small thing and because it’s

the next right small thing it’s usually

something that’s obvious to you to do

right and it’s easy it’s right there so

I think if I could say anything to

encourage everybody from my experience

it’s

stop trying to get over the mountain

and just make sure you don’t stumble on

that one rock that’s in front of you and

just keep going forward that’s great

that’s amazing disruptions in our life

are God’s

um God is wanting to reset us and uses

the disruption do that can you talk

about what that that means

God allows confusion chaos trouble

because he’s trying to get things that

are either out of order back in order or

to take us to a new level Hebrews

chapter 12 talks about God shaking

things and the physical because he wants

to do something in the spiritual so when

there is disturbance in the five senses

of our lives in the environment of our

lives in the chaos of the culture it is

because he is shaking things to remake

something in its proper order things

have gotten either out of order or there

is a new purpose that he is moving to

and so he will he will allow pharaoh to

get tougher so that you can leave Egypt

and not get comfortable there so he will

create so I I just want to encourage

people if you’re going through pain

struggle grief disappointment while

those feelings are real and you don’t

deny them also ask God what new thing

what new experience I love job 42. he’s

come through great loss I mean 24 hours

this whole world falls apart

his business his family his workers his

children his health everything falls

apart and he never even found out why

the book never tells job about the

conversation between God and Satan but

in chapter 42 he makes a powerful

statement he says I’ve heard about you

with the hearing of the ear I’ve been to

Bible study been to church been the

small group all that been to Sunday

school but now I have seen you with my

own eyes so ask God when your World

falls apart to make himself visible to

you in a new way and he wants to do it

because of what he allowed to disrupt

your ease and your comfortable situation

right there

can we can we just go around and I would

love to hear I don’t I’ve never asked

this either in what ways specifically in

as it relates to each of you has this

disruption reset you like what is a re

what is something that has been reset

and I’ll just say for me

um

the the purpose behind what I do has

changed drastically it’s changed

drastically

um the most important thing to me has

always been family but now that’s on

some other level uh the most one of the

of the second things has been Ministry

but now it’s it’s very purposeful and

intentional and if I’m going to miss

something family wise to do ministry I

won’t do that anymore like that that is

something that reseted me and uh it’s

help help open my eyes to what I really

have and appreciating that and not the

rat race of trying to get more and be

more and be you know the the bigger

thing

um what what about what about you

um I would say

y’all know I love Kanika yes uh which is

my wife yeah

um

but you know she’ll tell you I don’t

even I don’t know if it’s the way that

I’ve grieved uh

but she’ll tell you I mean my

appreciation for her tangibly has

skyrocketed

because she’s living our mother’s life

basically basically of the same

basically and um

one one of the things that broke my

heart

for Daddy

is the plans that he had for him and

mommy at 70.

is he talked about having these plans to

travel do you know kind of tone down in

the ministry and ramp up with just Him

and mommy just kind of riding off into

the sunset type of idea

and when Mommy died at 70.

um that just spoke volumes to me about

time and people and treasures and plans

and just life and so with my wife and

children

I don’t really live on it I’ll do it

later mentality

I live on I’m gonna do it right now

mentality and not take any of that for

granted yeah

I would agree I think that’s it’s along

the same lines that Mom said to us

incessantly mom said to us y’all need to

stop and smell the roses that’s what she

would say that was her sort of

encouragement to us and challenge to us

um mom did that very intentionally she

enjoyed her life she would intentionally

tack on extra time to Ministry trips for

the two of you to enjoy each other

sometimes we didn’t know where she was

at we didn’t know where she was at she’s

on a cruise yeah

yeah the Dallas Theological Seminary

would take these Ministry cruises and

she would just hop on and enjoy seeing

the world and also the foot the

footsteps of Paul or whatever and so she

did that very intentionally and I

remember her saying you know if she

could go back and do her life again she

would have started that mindset sooner

that even as you’re going throughout

raising kids and working and whatever

she would have stopped to smell the

roses sooner enjoy your life

um and so you all did that you know she

was always posting pictures hashtag two

peas in a pod the two of you enjoying

your life together and so that’s kind of

stuck with me what do I need to do even

as we are continuing in Ministry and

raising our boys and all of that but how

can we just pause and intentionally just

enjoy the ride

and there’s nothing non-spiritual about

exactly people yeah people think

exhaustion is a badge of honor like

especially

yeah no but Ecclesiastes is clear he’s

like enjoy your life it’s all vanity you

know it’s just like you know and so

that’s a part of the Christian Living

that we often toss to the side for

Christian Living that’s right you can be

diligent and faithful and consistent in

all those things and still have rest

have a sense of Sabbath about your life

and enjoy the ride

yeah I think

um what I’ve heard over and over again

um and I said this to at her funeral too

is just mommy was very good about

intentionally seeing people because she

was decided decisively moving slower she

took time to remember things to talk to

people so I think in the spirit of being

intentional and slowing down both from

my family to just making time to make

sure that the people around me not just

that I have time to enjoy my life which

is a part of that but also having the

bandwidth working on that to have the

bandwidth to be present

for you know the people that God brings

across my path that I don’t expect or I

wasn’t planning on that day to make room

for that too yeah you know speaking

about

mommy always just gets me I just I feel

her all the time just the the just the

love of our mother and I remember

um I think it was me and Priscilla were

standing over her bed we were all in and

out of the house so much in those uh

period but in the last few months we

were just all there and our mother’s

concern was for you like our mother’s

concern was what about the people who

are praying like when she felt like her

health was going a different direction

she was like but all these people are

praying what about the people who are

about their faith what about their faith

what about their faith what are they

gonna like she was concerned about you

and as I said tears about that worried

that the body of Christ would would

stumble in their faith potentially if

the Lord didn’t answer prayers because

so many people were praying that way and

as I sit here I’m very like man hmm

this is a message from our mom for you

yeah of what it looks like to hold on to

faith it wasn’t

when she when you when I just think

about her saying what about those people

well Mom we are here to talk to those

people people you were so worried about

the people you wanted to make sure were

okay we’re here to share what it looks

like to hold on to faith and it hurts it

doesn’t feel good but there is something

to be said about hurting

but knowing that you’re anchored at the

same time and that is what it is and I

know that Crystal mentioned everybody

may not have a family like this

but you you get to start you get to

start that story you have you have a

choice to start that story you have a

choice to have chosen family around you

which sometimes in some cases it’s like

this is my family but I just I love that

we are sitting here

and I just see her tears and what about

them and we are getting to address those

people yeah

on behalf of our mom who wants you to

hold on to faith when life is breaking

your heart

um

and in just a few minutes we’re gonna

we’re gonna close we’re so grateful that

we got to spend this time and daddy you

kind of already did it but just I want

you one more time because you have so

much to say this is one of the

the he is a well of knowledge like a

deep I’ve never even seen the bottom of

that well I don’t know where it is you

know but can you look into that camera

and just give

just give the viewers just one more what

does it look like

what do they need to do for a heart

that’s breaking I know that there’s

somebody there’s a bunch of people on

the other side of this screen with tears

running down their face

please look at them and talk to them

about what else they could do to hold on

to faith in this moment

[Music]

well one of the things your mom said

she was getting sick and sicker she said

don’t let my illness

deter you from God’s word and

proclaiming it

what

she was telling me was

hold on to God’s word and his truth

in spite of the circumstances that you

see us going through

so I just want to challenge everybody

who’s struggling who’s hurting

who’s going through difficult times

you tether yourself to God’s word you

memorize it you quote it you think about

it you have people telling it to you his

promises his encouragement you you read

you read that Upper Room discourse where

he’s encouraging his disciples on his

way to the Cross because he kept giving

them hope the Holy Spirit if you’ve

accepted Christ into your life the holy

spirit is there and he’s called the

comforter he’s the paraclete he is the

one who helps you to make it through

during tough times so allow the Holy

Spirit by requesting it that you don’t

have to go through all commotions you

say Lord God holy spirit because he’s

the one that Jesus left here to

represent him inside your heart Holy

Spirit comfort me because you are the

comforter encourage me by the word the

word is the truth the holy spirit is the

experience of the truth so he takes the

truth of God it makes it light up in

your soul

so ask him to light your soul up to dry

your eyes to comfort your heart to

settle your fears and he will do it

because you’ve come to the Lord through

his method based on his word to get it

done that may not mean your circumstance

will change today or tomorrow

but it means that you will change in

your circumstance and when you change

you’re managing what used to be managing

you