“Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful” (Hebrews 10:23).

Life is full of twists and turns and sometimes it may feel that you just got on the wrong train headed nowhere. We can feel distracted, derailed and oftentimes depressed. But when we are in tune with the Lord we come to realize that He is our strength during our rough times and our song during days of rejoicing.

Some years ago I went through a time spiritually that was downright overwhelming. I faced one month of deep questioning and quietness in my soul. Not knowing the future, I had no inkling what was soon to come for both my wife and I. Outward appearances concealed the turmoil that had beset me. I was still functioning, yet I felt so far from God. Maybe you’ve been there – where you’ve experienced incredibly tough circumstances and you’re praying and seeking God’s direction and will for your life, but you seem to be getting nowhere. It seems for the moment that God has put you on hold. You keep trying to get His attention, but nothing happens. Well, don’t feel discouraged. There are many who are struggling with these very same thoughts and emotions.

As much as I dread these spiritual down-times in my life, I’ve come to understand how times like these help prepare me for the unknown…things the Lord will soon reveal to me. Times such as these have proven to be rejuvenating and renewing to my soul. Here’s what I mean: my metaphorical cup was totally half empty as I was stuck in my circumstances not able to do a whole lot of anything in my spiritual life. I couldn’t move backwards and I couldn’t move forward; however, God was preparing me for the tough times that were about to come to my family.

Just as I was crying out to the Lord, I received God’s leading through the Holy Spirit to begin writing down from memory, without stopping, all the biblical truths and facts that immediately came to my mind. I didn’t understand how this was going to pull me out of the hole I was in, but I did it…and it did. In that moment of absolute surrender – God knew he had my full attention. I was ready to listen and let Him prepare me for the challenges that would soon overtake me.

Here is my journal entry from September 26:

Fact is: I am forgiven; I am saved by the blood of Christ, the perfect Lamb of God; God has promised me greater grace and power to carry out His will in my life; if I humble myself He will exalt me in due time; heaven awaits all those who belong to the Lord; God has promised He will not allow me to be tempted beyond what I am able and He will, along with the temptation, provide me the way of escape; His grace is sufficient for me; when I am weak, then I am strong in Him; I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me; if God is for me who can be against me; nothing and no one can separate me from the love of Christ; if I delight in the Lord He shall give me the desires of the heart; Jesus is my rock and salvation, in none shall I fear.

Fact is: I have been redeemed; I have eternal life; I have received the Holy Spirit; the convictor of my sin and the sealer of my soul; the Holy Spirit is the comforter sent from heaven above; Jesus is the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last; Jesus Christ is the great “I AM”, Jehovah, Lord of Lords, King of Kings, God Almighty; Jesus is the only begotten Son of God; I believe in the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit – these three are God in one – the Godhead.

Fact is: Satan, the fallen angel from heaven, is a created creature; Satan wants to separate me from God; Satan is doomed to hell along with the false prophet, the beast, and all angels who rebelled against God and who defiantly refused to obey the living truth—the Word of God.

Fact is: every believer is a conqueror in Christ; we shall be victorious and raised up on that glorious Day of the Lord; Jesus Christ is coming a last time not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to his children, and to judge the sinner; sin cannot go unpunished; only in Jesus can we be washed and cleansed from all unrighteousness; Jesus will return with His angels in flaming fire; in the twinkling of an eye we shall put on immortality and these bodies shall be made incorruptible; we shall be just like Jesus when he returns; we shall be raised at the last trumpet and shall meet the Lord in the air with all those saints who have gone before us; we shall not be judged by the wrath of God if we have claimed his Truth in our lives; Heaven shall be where God and His people dwell together; the New Jerusalem shall come down out of heaven from God; the old things are passed away; Jesus will make all things new; there will be no more sun, for the radiance of Christ shall be our light; there will be no more tears, death, mourning, crying, or pain; He that overcomes shall inherit these things.

Fact is: the Church is His Bride, his chosen ones and the Groom is Jesus Christ…together they shall be forevermore; we shall sit down at the great marriage supper of the Lamb; there shall be no unclean thing or any person that makes an abomination and a lie in heaven where the Lord God Almighty and his people dwell; his holy angels and all saints since beginning of time shall dwell in His presence; we shall serve the lamb; we shall see his face…we shall reign forever more with Him; blessed are they who wash their robes by the blood of Christ; blessed are they who have the right to come to the tree of life; blessed are they who enter by the gates into the city of God; blessed are they who shall receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ; the Spirit and the Bride say, “Come”, let us say, “come quickly, Amen.”

Fact is: one day there shall be no more time as we know it on this earth; time shall fade away and the heavens shall be peeled back as a scroll; and the names of the saints of God who are recorded in the Book of Life shall witness the miraculous event of the Final Coming of the Son of Man, Jesus Christ; our faith in Christ shall be rewarded; we shall not be put to shame for we have testified of the Truth we proclaimed and spoke of on earth; on this glorious Day our faith shall become sight and we shall reign with the Lord Jesus, God Almighty.

Fact is: eternal Life shall be fully revealed; our heavenly home shall be seen and the Truths of the Word shall be fulfilled; what we spoke and believed and walked in by faith shall be made visible; our labor was not in vain; our Lord God’s promises to us in His Word are truly “Yes”; He is faithful and true to accomplish his promises all to His glory.

Fact is: I have been crucified with Christ and it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith, the faith which is in the son of God who loved me and gave Himself up for me; all who believe and live for Him shall inherit eternal life and all of the wonderful promises to come.

These are the facts and this is what I believe because the Bible says it to be true. All will be revealed and made visible because they are the promises of God who says all His promises are sure to come. There is a Day that surely awaits every person when we stand before Him in His magnificent and almighty Presence. We will all bow down in true awe and words will be unable to describe such a moment. Our faith shall become sight as all the saints in glory will sing a new song given to them in heaven…the never ending song, “Holy, Holy, Holy is the Lord God Almighty!”

On the day when I completed my writing of the above passage, I was literally blown away that everything I had written was either past, present, and future promises God has made to believers and for those who will come to believe. In the Bible there are over 3,000 promises given to believers. I began weeping as I realized how much I have spiritually been given…even if I were to lose all earthly possessions and life itself. I immediately became grateful and the heaviness that was upon me was lifted and His peace rushed into my soul.

The simplicity of my obedience in writing biblical passages of God’s promises was exactly what was needed to pull me out of my dungeon of captivity. We need to be reminded of the power of God’s Word in our life, even when you “feel you don’t have anything spiritually going on inside you.” You don’t have to understand all the mysteries of life or know why you’re going through what you’re going through (click to read more from previous blog post: Elijah, the Man of God).

Four months after my journal writing, I underwent an extreme dual-drug therapy treatment for one year. This was in an attempt to stabilize my deteriorating liver that was a direct result of drug abuse prior to my coming to the Lord in 1973. Just two weeks after completing my regimen, my wife was diagnosed with an aggressive Stage III Breast Cancer (click to read more from previous blog post: Fan Into Flame: The Power of Worship). We knew the Word of God was to be our strength no matter what our outcomes. Today, we praise the Lord for healing us both and for sparing our lives. My liver was miraculously healed, as the odds were slim, and my wife is a cancer survivor of 14 years. God knew how to prepare me even when my eyes couldn’t foresee the future, but He knew.

The fact is, when you’re depressed you have the Word of God that restores and transforms your mind. When you sin you’ll be reminded of God’s glorious grace and forgiveness. When confused, abandoned, and feeling the stress of life, you have the sovereignty of your God to rule over you reminding you that you’re not alone. You don’t need to have God split open the earth in front of you to shake you and wake you up. If you’re hurt, bruised, and crushed in spirit, His Holy Spirit will lift you to greater heights as a child of the King. If you only knew just one fact, one promise from God’s Word, may it be that Christ Jesus came to die for you and He is returning for all who call out His Name. This alone would be enough to bless us for all the days of our lives.

So, I ask you, “What does the Lord your God want you to ponder during your “down-time”, your “off season”, your “weird funk”? When your spiritual glass is half-filled and life looks bleak, unfulfilling and dreary, let God speak to your heart through His Word. The facts will definitely change your perspective with a new and fresh vision on His promises!

All the promises I listed above can be found here. Print them, save them, meditate on them for they are God’s Word. Read them over and over because many times God must first empty us in order to fill us.