WEBVTT 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:14.480 James 1 reminds us to consider it all joy when 00:00:14.480 --> 00:00:17.579 we endure trials. And we can all agree with that 00:00:17.579 --> 00:00:20.219 in theory. But what happens when the rug gets 00:00:20.219 --> 00:00:22.620 pulled out from under you? Not just a little 00:00:22.620 --> 00:00:25.219 stress at work or having a few arguments with 00:00:25.219 --> 00:00:27.839 your spouse. I'm talking about a fatal car crash, 00:00:28.039 --> 00:00:31.219 a sudden heart attack, a mass shooter, a natural 00:00:31.219 --> 00:00:33.920 disaster. What do you do when someone you love 00:00:33.920 --> 00:00:37.070 is here one minute and gone the next? I'm Dave 00:00:37.070 --> 00:00:39.149 Drewy, and this past week on Living on the Edge, 00:00:39.210 --> 00:00:41.590 we shared the powerful testimony of a man who 00:00:41.590 --> 00:00:44.990 experienced an unbelievable tragedy, yet he put 00:00:44.990 --> 00:00:48.109 his faith in God and persevered through it. Our 00:00:48.109 --> 00:00:50.229 Bible teacher, Chip Ingram, is with me now to 00:00:50.229 --> 00:00:52.770 give a bit more context for this weekend program. 00:00:53.390 --> 00:00:57.770 Thanks, Dave. Every now and then, I hear a testimony 00:00:57.770 --> 00:01:01.909 that so reveals God's power and God's love in 00:01:01.909 --> 00:01:04.890 the midst of tragedy and impossible situations. 00:01:05.590 --> 00:01:09.230 Shortly after COVID, there was a man who went 00:01:09.230 --> 00:01:11.989 through one of the most devastating experiences 00:01:11.989 --> 00:01:14.829 that I could have ever imagined. And there was 00:01:14.829 --> 00:01:16.530 a little resource that we were helping people 00:01:16.530 --> 00:01:19.189 with called The Art of Survival, and it ended 00:01:19.189 --> 00:01:23.109 up going all around the world. But how it intersected 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:26.530 with this man and what happened from his life 00:01:26.530 --> 00:01:29.469 is something that people need to hear. And I 00:01:29.469 --> 00:01:32.069 don't want to take any more time, but if you 00:01:32.069 --> 00:01:35.409 today are thinking, I've been through some rough 00:01:35.409 --> 00:01:38.709 times, or I know someone going through a really 00:01:38.709 --> 00:01:42.030 hard time, or you even look at some of the tragedies 00:01:42.030 --> 00:01:44.530 and say, God, where are you and how do you come 00:01:44.530 --> 00:01:46.969 through? You don't want to miss what you're going 00:01:46.969 --> 00:01:49.609 to hear today. Great setup, Chip. And before 00:01:49.609 --> 00:01:51.969 we get going, while Guy's story is incredibly 00:01:51.969 --> 00:01:55.230 moving, it's only intended for mature audiences. 00:01:55.790 --> 00:01:58.189 So if you have younger kids listening with you, 00:01:58.349 --> 00:02:01.340 parental discretion is advised. Okay, here now 00:02:01.340 --> 00:02:04.659 is part one of Guy's testimony from tragedy to 00:02:04.659 --> 00:02:15.240 victory. My name's Guy. I'm 54 years old, and 00:02:15.240 --> 00:02:18.240 I've been a Christian since a teenager. I was 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:21.039 very blessed to have been brought up in a Christian 00:02:21.039 --> 00:02:25.120 household with two loving parents. I met Hazel 00:02:25.120 --> 00:02:28.919 when I was 15, so we really were childhood sweethearts. 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:32.520 And we started dating for a number of years and 00:02:32.520 --> 00:02:36.379 got married at the age of 21. I have two boys 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:40.300 and we moved to a little seaside town in the 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:43.500 southwest of England called Dawlish. And the 00:02:43.500 --> 00:02:46.180 whole purpose of going there was to set up a 00:02:46.180 --> 00:02:49.340 ministry called Pastor's Pad. And that was to 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:52.460 provide soul care and respite for people in ministry. 00:02:52.960 --> 00:02:57.539 And we've been running that since 2011. and just 00:02:57.539 --> 00:03:01.360 seen so many incredible miracles happen through 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:04.539 marriages saved, people set free from addiction, 00:03:04.900 --> 00:03:08.180 people being able to take churches in new directions 00:03:08.180 --> 00:03:11.740 that could really reach people for Jesus. And 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:15.560 as well as doing Pastor's Pad, I'm also heavily 00:03:15.560 --> 00:03:18.300 involved in the local church. I've been in Christian 00:03:18.300 --> 00:03:22.020 leadership for pretty much most of my adult life. 00:03:23.180 --> 00:03:26.219 Let me tell you about Hazel, my wife, and our 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:31.460 marriage. Hazel was just the kindest person that 00:03:31.460 --> 00:03:34.520 I think I'd ever met. People used to say that 00:03:34.520 --> 00:03:36.300 she would light up the room, and that's what 00:03:36.300 --> 00:03:39.180 I used to love about her. She had such a heart 00:03:39.180 --> 00:03:43.340 for people. She cared so, so deeply. She had 00:03:43.340 --> 00:03:46.680 this saying that she always wanted to leave people 00:03:46.680 --> 00:03:49.699 better off than when she first met up with them. 00:03:49.800 --> 00:03:52.560 That was her thing. She never liked to leave 00:03:52.560 --> 00:03:55.259 a conversation or an interaction in a bad place. 00:03:55.819 --> 00:03:59.080 And really, that whole heart is, I guess, why 00:03:59.080 --> 00:04:03.539 I fell in love with her. Not just married, but 00:04:03.539 --> 00:04:06.020 we've been best of friends. We've been soulmates. 00:04:06.060 --> 00:04:08.400 We've been buddies. We've travelled a lot. We've 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:12.400 had so many blessed years. And like every marriage, 00:04:12.560 --> 00:04:16.420 it has its ups and downs. But having that commonality 00:04:16.420 --> 00:04:20.680 of being friends as well as mission partners 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:23.779 and as well as lovers is such a powerful combination. 00:04:24.720 --> 00:04:27.939 My friends would describe her as just the warmest, 00:04:27.939 --> 00:04:31.110 kindest person that you'd meet. When she entered 00:04:31.110 --> 00:04:33.850 the room, you knew it, not from the noise she 00:04:33.850 --> 00:04:36.709 was making, but just how her smile just drew 00:04:36.709 --> 00:04:39.709 you in. She would always work the room. She would 00:04:39.709 --> 00:04:42.189 walk around trying to find people who perhaps 00:04:42.189 --> 00:04:44.870 weren't talking to somebody and she'd go along 00:04:44.870 --> 00:04:47.269 and just ask them who they were and what their 00:04:47.269 --> 00:04:50.269 story was. One of my favourite photographs of 00:04:50.269 --> 00:04:53.850 Hazel is when we went on holiday last year and 00:04:53.850 --> 00:04:56.209 it was over to Cornwall, which was her favourite 00:04:56.209 --> 00:04:59.920 place, and she sat in this huge... sitting chair, 00:05:00.060 --> 00:05:03.220 all snuggled up with a lovely scarf on. And that 00:05:03.220 --> 00:05:05.959 was her. She just loved to feel snuggled and 00:05:05.959 --> 00:05:08.699 cuddled with a cup of tea or coffee in her hands 00:05:08.699 --> 00:05:11.959 and just talk to people. She was really, really 00:05:11.959 --> 00:05:15.480 personable. We had so many years of blessing, 00:05:15.600 --> 00:05:18.980 a lot of fun, a lot of laughter. But as every 00:05:18.980 --> 00:05:22.759 family, you do have challenges. I think the first... 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.220 hardest challenge that we had was our youngest 00:05:25.220 --> 00:05:28.139 son nearly died when he was eight weeks old to 00:05:28.139 --> 00:05:30.980 an illness so we know what it's like to sit by 00:05:30.980 --> 00:05:34.620 a hospital bed for a week to two weeks wondering 00:05:34.620 --> 00:05:36.459 whether your child's going to make it through. 00:05:36.860 --> 00:05:40.839 That certainly has a very focused effect on your 00:05:40.839 --> 00:05:43.220 prayer life and certainly when you're in that 00:05:43.220 --> 00:05:45.579 environment and there are other sick children 00:05:45.579 --> 00:05:48.660 in beds nearby so that was a very tough period. 00:05:49.800 --> 00:05:52.620 But the challenges really started when our eldest 00:05:52.620 --> 00:05:55.879 was going through perhaps his mid -teenage years 00:05:55.879 --> 00:05:58.519 and that was the point that we knew something 00:05:58.519 --> 00:06:02.560 was desperately wrong. He started to withdraw 00:06:02.560 --> 00:06:06.980 a lot. He was struggling with identity in various 00:06:06.980 --> 00:06:11.720 different ways and chose to cope with that through 00:06:11.720 --> 00:06:15.519 self -medication of drugs and alcohol. And this 00:06:15.519 --> 00:06:17.920 was one of the hardest periods for us because 00:06:18.730 --> 00:06:20.550 We just thought, what have we done as parents? 00:06:20.730 --> 00:06:24.430 Why is this happening? Why is our eldest not 00:06:24.430 --> 00:06:28.110 talking to us? Why is he not listening to the 00:06:28.110 --> 00:06:31.329 advice that he's used to? And we realised something 00:06:31.329 --> 00:06:35.829 was deeply, deeply troubling him. And then, a 00:06:35.829 --> 00:06:39.209 few years later, when the problems with substance 00:06:39.209 --> 00:06:43.009 abuse got worse, it became very clear that there 00:06:43.009 --> 00:06:46.329 were underlying mental health issues. He was 00:06:46.329 --> 00:06:49.790 diagnosed with autism, in fact, two types of 00:06:49.790 --> 00:06:54.850 autism, Asperger's and BPD, which are really 00:06:54.850 --> 00:06:57.930 complex forms of autism. They fight against each 00:06:57.930 --> 00:07:01.709 other. And this really caused him a lot of distress. 00:07:03.189 --> 00:07:06.410 He got to the point where he was very, very paranoid 00:07:06.410 --> 00:07:09.870 about all sorts of things. And this paranoia 00:07:09.870 --> 00:07:13.889 then started to lead to psychosis. We probably, 00:07:14.089 --> 00:07:18.649 for the last five years, had extreme concerns 00:07:18.649 --> 00:07:24.649 about his well -being. He had five suicide attempts, 00:07:24.889 --> 00:07:30.589 multiple self -harm. A number of times he tripped 00:07:30.589 --> 00:07:33.750 into psychosis and became extremely threatening. 00:07:34.550 --> 00:07:38.889 And this was really, really concerning. We didn't 00:07:38.889 --> 00:07:41.740 really know what to do. We reached out many, 00:07:41.860 --> 00:07:45.000 many times for help and we didn't feel that that 00:07:45.000 --> 00:07:48.040 was coming through the normal channels. It was 00:07:48.040 --> 00:07:51.379 at that point that he got sectioned and was put 00:07:51.379 --> 00:07:57.060 in a secure hospital. He was then released. We 00:07:57.060 --> 00:07:59.120 were really concerned about the nature of that 00:07:59.120 --> 00:08:03.819 release. Anyway, he was put into temporary accommodation, 00:08:04.180 --> 00:08:09.860 which really was pretty horrendous. Hazel would 00:08:09.860 --> 00:08:15.379 visit him frequently to help with meals and cleaning 00:08:15.379 --> 00:08:19.540 and then we managed to find him a flat where 00:08:19.540 --> 00:08:22.699 at least he could be safe and have a space that 00:08:22.699 --> 00:08:28.259 he could feel was secure for himself. It was 00:08:28.259 --> 00:08:31.300 three weeks later and our youngest son graduated 00:08:31.300 --> 00:08:34.580 from university and we enjoyed, we celebrated 00:08:34.580 --> 00:08:38.519 that. And then as we were coming home from the 00:08:38.519 --> 00:08:41.139 graduation, we got a phone call from our eldest 00:08:41.139 --> 00:08:43.940 son saying that he really needed help cleaning 00:08:43.940 --> 00:08:48.320 the flat. So Hazel, being the person that she 00:08:48.320 --> 00:08:51.740 was, said that she would go and do that. I had 00:08:51.740 --> 00:08:54.000 some work to do for a big church meeting coming 00:08:54.000 --> 00:08:57.460 up and I dropped her off at the flat and went 00:08:57.460 --> 00:09:01.620 off to a cafe for a few hours. At pick -up time, 00:09:01.779 --> 00:09:07.230 I came to find her, to pick her up. and put in 00:09:07.230 --> 00:09:12.149 a phone call, but there was no answer. I got 00:09:12.149 --> 00:09:16.389 outside the flat, I knocked on the door, there 00:09:16.389 --> 00:09:20.970 was no answer. I knocked again, still nothing. 00:09:22.590 --> 00:09:25.929 At this point, I didn't necessarily think there 00:09:25.929 --> 00:09:28.830 was a problem, but I tried ringing Hazel's phone, 00:09:28.970 --> 00:09:32.610 I tried ringing my eldest son's phone, and there 00:09:32.610 --> 00:09:37.850 was nothing. I started to bang on the door, a 00:09:37.850 --> 00:09:41.149 lot louder, shouting up to be let in. And then 00:09:41.149 --> 00:09:44.289 I got a text from my eldest son saying to call 00:09:44.289 --> 00:09:50.629 the police. At this point, my mind was just all 00:09:50.629 --> 00:09:55.409 over the place. I shouted up for him to open 00:09:55.409 --> 00:09:59.690 the door, and he didn't. I then started to bang 00:09:59.690 --> 00:10:03.350 on the door very hard. He sent another text. 00:10:04.169 --> 00:10:10.429 saying, Dad, call the police. So I did. And then 00:10:10.429 --> 00:10:14.769 whilst I was on the phone to the police, explaining 00:10:14.769 --> 00:10:18.909 the history, he sent me a text saying he'd killed 00:10:18.909 --> 00:10:32.679 her. At that point, I totally lost it. I was 00:10:32.679 --> 00:10:35.419 kicking the door as hard as I could, screaming 00:10:35.419 --> 00:10:39.480 in the middle of the street to be let in. The 00:10:39.480 --> 00:10:42.620 police came. They took me in the police car to 00:10:42.620 --> 00:10:45.100 a police station and I was video interviewed 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:50.120 for an hour and a half. And then after that, 00:10:50.279 --> 00:11:00.419 they told me that she was dead. I then rang. 00:11:01.389 --> 00:11:05.250 My family and my best friend came and picked 00:11:05.250 --> 00:11:10.309 me up. And I got driven back home. And then I 00:11:10.309 --> 00:11:13.590 had the horrendous task of having to tell Hazel's 00:11:13.590 --> 00:11:17.409 parents what had happened. That's the hardest 00:11:17.409 --> 00:11:24.230 thing I've ever had to do. I think as a father 00:11:24.230 --> 00:11:28.230 and as a husband, you have such competing thoughts 00:11:28.230 --> 00:11:31.789 going on. I mean, none of this is normal. I felt 00:11:31.789 --> 00:11:36.129 sick and numb. You go through denial, this can't 00:11:36.129 --> 00:11:40.950 be happening. You feel like, from a husband point 00:11:40.950 --> 00:11:43.330 of view, you've just got this huge hole just 00:11:43.330 --> 00:11:46.730 literally that's been ripped out of you. A sadness 00:11:46.730 --> 00:11:52.450 and pain like I'd never experienced. In terms 00:11:52.450 --> 00:11:56.990 of me being a father, how am I supposed to feel? 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:02.860 The person who was my soulmate has been killed 00:12:02.860 --> 00:12:05.539 by the person I promised to unconditionally love. 00:12:06.940 --> 00:12:12.559 It's an absolute mind bend. Absolute mind bend. 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:19.120 I think when people go through extreme trauma, 00:12:19.279 --> 00:12:23.340 they naturally rise up. They've got to get stuck 00:12:23.340 --> 00:12:27.799 in and get the job done. I went into that mode 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:32.950 where I was... funeral organizer to family counselor 00:12:32.950 --> 00:12:39.389 to support for my youngest son they've got all 00:12:39.389 --> 00:12:41.570 these things going on and what you're not doing 00:12:41.570 --> 00:12:43.350 is dealing with your own grief you're kind of 00:12:43.350 --> 00:12:46.529 putting it off because you know you've got the 00:12:46.529 --> 00:12:48.570 most difficult few weeks coming up you've just 00:12:48.570 --> 00:12:50.990 got to get through it you've got to do the best 00:12:50.990 --> 00:12:53.629 that you can you've got to do the best by hazel 00:12:53.629 --> 00:12:58.539 but If I'm being really honest with it, in the 00:12:58.539 --> 00:13:02.639 early days, after all of that was done, I completely 00:13:02.639 --> 00:13:09.240 zoned out and withdrew. Some days I would literally 00:13:09.240 --> 00:13:13.379 curl up in a ball in front of the fire and just 00:13:13.379 --> 00:13:17.759 want to go to sleep and not wake up. I would 00:13:17.759 --> 00:13:19.879 wake up frequently in the night with panic attacks, 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:24.779 just like you're suffocating. Just that sense 00:13:24.779 --> 00:13:30.059 of loss and grief is just so unimaginable. I 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:33.360 had two bouts of PTSD, which were really terrifying. 00:13:33.840 --> 00:13:36.059 And it was at that point I knew I needed help. 00:13:37.039 --> 00:13:40.179 I think the hardest thing as a husband waking 00:13:40.179 --> 00:13:43.600 up and just seeing an empty side of the bed. 00:13:45.899 --> 00:13:51.120 Within the first week or so, there was no... 00:13:51.629 --> 00:13:53.730 doubt that the thing had happened because of 00:13:53.730 --> 00:13:57.289 the things I'd seen and experienced and just 00:13:57.289 --> 00:14:01.710 that level of trauma. But you wake up and that 00:14:01.710 --> 00:14:04.830 was the loneliest time, first thing, just to 00:14:04.830 --> 00:14:07.889 see an empty bed, see her photographed by the 00:14:07.889 --> 00:14:11.490 bed, just that sense of just complete loneliness 00:14:11.490 --> 00:14:17.950 and loss. For months I used to play worship tunes, 00:14:18.070 --> 00:14:22.799 just hours on end I'd have my air pods in and 00:14:22.799 --> 00:14:28.080 I'd use that to get to sleep and that would really 00:14:28.080 --> 00:14:31.440 really help me I listened to a lot of Brandon 00:14:31.440 --> 00:14:35.980 Lake Gratitude was the anthem song choosing to 00:14:35.980 --> 00:14:39.419 raise that hallelujah you know when you've literally 00:14:39.419 --> 00:14:42.279 got nothing nothing fit for a king all you can 00:14:42.279 --> 00:14:45.720 do is sing from your heart and just raise your 00:14:45.720 --> 00:14:49.610 hands raise that hallelujah and for me That was 00:14:49.610 --> 00:14:52.289 probably the biggest song on my playlist that 00:14:52.289 --> 00:14:55.230 was just going back and back and back because 00:14:55.230 --> 00:14:59.389 the only way I could deal with this was just 00:14:59.389 --> 00:15:02.049 to remember the good times that we'd had and 00:15:02.049 --> 00:15:04.370 that was the attitude that I chose to put on. 00:15:04.610 --> 00:15:09.190 One of thankfulness for who Hazel was and for 00:15:09.190 --> 00:15:11.190 the incredible times that we'd had with each 00:15:11.190 --> 00:15:16.970 other and just recognising that Jesus is there. 00:15:17.360 --> 00:15:20.899 he gets it he gets the pain and the best thing 00:15:20.899 --> 00:15:23.299 i could do was just literally lift that up to 00:15:23.299 --> 00:15:28.019 him every time and this fits in really with some 00:15:28.019 --> 00:15:30.379 of the art of survival stuff you know that was 00:15:30.379 --> 00:15:32.860 just an incredible tool for me quite a short 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:36.700 book quite a thin book really accessible simple 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:40.899 practical and as soon as i started reading it 00:15:40.899 --> 00:15:43.620 i knew i needed to really press into this book 00:15:43.620 --> 00:15:47.389 and sometimes I would read just a page. Sometimes 00:15:47.389 --> 00:15:49.750 I would just read a couple of lines and just 00:15:49.750 --> 00:15:52.990 sit in the wisdom that was there. And other times 00:15:52.990 --> 00:15:56.250 I'd read just a whole chapter. I typed up notes 00:15:56.250 --> 00:15:58.769 on my phone, so I had it all the time with me. 00:15:59.429 --> 00:16:03.370 And it was genuinely my field manual. At times 00:16:03.370 --> 00:16:06.509 when I needed to press into it a little more 00:16:06.509 --> 00:16:09.190 than a few minutes, like for an hour or so, it 00:16:09.190 --> 00:16:11.610 became my boot camp. I would run through some 00:16:11.610 --> 00:16:15.159 of the drills that are in that book. When we 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:18.580 get into aspects of that, A being about attitude, 00:16:18.740 --> 00:16:21.559 that was huge for me because every day getting 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:24.360 up was a battle. And I thought to myself, I have 00:16:24.360 --> 00:16:27.240 a choice here. I can't change what's happened. 00:16:28.179 --> 00:16:31.179 But what I can do is I can choose the attitude 00:16:31.179 --> 00:16:34.120 that I go into this day with and that I end this 00:16:34.120 --> 00:16:37.159 day with. And that was just incredibly helpful 00:16:37.159 --> 00:16:41.419 for me. And the days when I had no words, then 00:16:41.419 --> 00:16:43.720 the attitude I chose was one of gratitude and 00:16:43.720 --> 00:16:48.679 thanks. When I really didn't feel like getting 00:16:48.679 --> 00:16:50.980 out of bed, the attitude that I chose was that 00:16:50.980 --> 00:16:53.500 I am going to get out of bed and I'm going to 00:16:53.500 --> 00:16:55.679 go for a walk and I'm going to enjoy the beautiful 00:16:55.679 --> 00:17:00.500 countryside that's here. There's this incredible 00:17:00.500 --> 00:17:05.079 but simple expression from Chip about saying 00:17:05.079 --> 00:17:07.220 that there are victims and there are survivors 00:17:07.220 --> 00:17:12.259 and the victims ask the why questions. I knew. 00:17:12.839 --> 00:17:17.440 I had no possible positive outcome about asking 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:21.779 a why question about what had happened. It didn't 00:17:21.779 --> 00:17:24.619 help to go into the land of should have, could 00:17:24.619 --> 00:17:28.720 have, would have, because there aren't answers. 00:17:30.480 --> 00:17:34.759 And so focusing on these what questions, literally 00:17:34.759 --> 00:17:38.740 saying, number one, what is in my control right 00:17:38.740 --> 00:17:41.549 now? I might feel like there's a lot spiralling 00:17:41.549 --> 00:17:46.029 out of control, but right now, what is in my 00:17:46.029 --> 00:17:51.130 control? Number two, what have I got to do to 00:17:51.130 --> 00:17:55.049 get through the next day? And sometimes that 00:17:55.049 --> 00:17:57.910 was broken down to the next hour, and sometimes 00:17:57.910 --> 00:18:01.230 that was broken down to the next minute. It was 00:18:01.230 --> 00:18:05.710 literally that. And the third question, really 00:18:05.710 --> 00:18:08.450 important, was what hope do you have for the 00:18:08.450 --> 00:18:12.549 future? And I knew that whilst I couldn't understand 00:18:12.549 --> 00:18:16.109 why this had happened to me and my family, was 00:18:16.109 --> 00:18:19.849 that through my faith, I know God's got this. 00:18:20.130 --> 00:18:22.470 I know that there's a future, that there's a 00:18:22.470 --> 00:18:25.069 purpose that sits out there. I can't explain 00:18:25.069 --> 00:18:27.829 it now, but I know it's definitely out there. 00:18:28.630 --> 00:18:31.549 We know from James chapter 1 that when you go 00:18:31.549 --> 00:18:34.369 through hardships, if you persevere, that endurance 00:18:34.369 --> 00:18:38.539 leads to maturity. It seems like such a contradiction 00:18:38.539 --> 00:18:41.160 that you can see joy through such hardships. 00:18:42.160 --> 00:18:44.480 But as what I've learned and from this teaching 00:18:44.480 --> 00:18:49.079 is the joy is the outcome. It's an outworking. 00:18:49.720 --> 00:18:53.500 And it says in verse 12 that you get the crown 00:18:53.500 --> 00:18:55.839 of life. So we're looking at the end goal. So 00:18:55.839 --> 00:19:00.240 my joy is in that crown of life that when I go 00:19:00.240 --> 00:19:03.490 to meet. God in heaven, he can say, well done, 00:19:03.609 --> 00:19:06.789 good and faithful servant. I have run that race. 00:19:06.950 --> 00:19:10.089 I have got through that. It was incredibly hard, 00:19:10.230 --> 00:19:14.250 but I did endure. My faith lasted out and here 00:19:14.250 --> 00:19:18.109 I am. For me, that joy is knowing the fact that 00:19:18.109 --> 00:19:20.589 I am a child of God and that I am going to be 00:19:20.589 --> 00:19:23.190 back with Hazel at some point and I'm going to 00:19:23.190 --> 00:19:27.009 spend eternity with her and with Jesus. So keeping 00:19:27.009 --> 00:19:30.690 my eye on the third what question. is absolutely 00:19:30.690 --> 00:19:34.329 critical. And this is one thing as Christians, 00:19:34.450 --> 00:19:37.470 we're so easily going to church, singing these 00:19:37.470 --> 00:19:40.309 songs about mountaintop experiences, about valley 00:19:40.309 --> 00:19:43.309 experiences, about putting it all on the altar, 00:19:43.509 --> 00:19:46.730 all of that stuff. But when it comes to it, how 00:19:46.730 --> 00:19:48.950 much is just words or stuff that goes in your 00:19:48.950 --> 00:19:55.250 head? I either trust God or I don't. I either 00:19:55.250 --> 00:19:58.339 trust that he loves me, I either trust that he's 00:19:58.339 --> 00:20:01.380 got a future for me and a purpose for me according 00:20:01.380 --> 00:20:05.599 to his purposes because I love him, or I don't. 00:20:10.240 --> 00:20:14.839 God didn't cause this. God didn't make this happen. 00:20:15.680 --> 00:20:20.640 But it did happen. For some mysterious way, this 00:20:20.640 --> 00:20:25.160 happened. I will never understand it. But it 00:20:25.160 --> 00:20:29.519 is my desire. my dream to be able to help others 00:20:29.519 --> 00:20:31.900 off the back of this experience, to be able to 00:20:31.900 --> 00:20:36.980 minister to them through their grief and to be 00:20:36.980 --> 00:20:41.960 able to wing Kingdom Souls for Christ. I've had 00:20:41.960 --> 00:20:44.119 so many moments when I've been on my knees saying, 00:20:44.220 --> 00:20:48.119 Lord, how do I get through this situation? How 00:20:48.119 --> 00:20:52.279 do I plan and do a funeral? How do I ID my wife's 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:56.400 body in the mortuary? How do I go into a courtroom 00:20:56.400 --> 00:20:59.480 where my eldest son is going to get sentenced 00:20:59.480 --> 00:21:01.839 potentially off the back of my own testimony? 00:21:02.880 --> 00:21:06.460 How am I going to go into the flat where my wife 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:09.400 was killed and gather up all the possessions? 00:21:09.920 --> 00:21:13.240 How am I going to deal with that? And so from 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:15.940 the results point of view, asking for wisdom 00:21:15.940 --> 00:21:20.460 in those situations from the Lord is just so 00:21:20.460 --> 00:21:22.779 critical. And the thing about James chapter 1, 00:21:23.160 --> 00:21:28.500 is asking and then not doubting and being resolute 00:21:28.500 --> 00:21:31.299 about what you think God is asking you to do 00:21:31.299 --> 00:21:34.240 and just getting on and doing it, not questioning 00:21:34.240 --> 00:21:38.099 him. We either trust our creator God, who made 00:21:38.099 --> 00:21:41.259 this incredible planet, but yet cares for us, 00:21:41.299 --> 00:21:45.900 or we don't. And keeping our eyes fixed upwards 00:21:45.900 --> 00:21:48.359 is sometimes the hardest thing to do, but the 00:21:48.359 --> 00:21:52.240 most essential. There's a really incredible... 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:56.059 sentence in one of the chapters in this book 00:21:56.059 --> 00:22:00.240 where chip says is my hope determined by the 00:22:00.240 --> 00:22:03.660 size of my problems or the certainty of god's 00:22:03.660 --> 00:22:10.440 promises wow that's a real leveler in terms of 00:22:10.440 --> 00:22:12.920 helping you pray through these things and really 00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:16.759 helping to focus on god's goodness and god's 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:22.789 kindness god never wastes anything He's going 00:22:22.789 --> 00:22:25.829 to use this in some mighty way. He already has 00:22:25.829 --> 00:22:30.490 been. And so for me, seeing God's perspective 00:22:30.490 --> 00:22:34.170 on this, it's really, really helped me steer 00:22:34.170 --> 00:22:39.109 through. And another song that I listen to a 00:22:39.109 --> 00:22:42.890 lot, a Cody Kahn song, Christ be magnified from 00:22:42.890 --> 00:22:46.069 the altar of my life. And I feel as though my 00:22:46.069 --> 00:22:48.549 life has been put on an altar, the situations 00:22:48.549 --> 00:22:51.190 I've had to go through. But I know God's been 00:22:51.190 --> 00:22:54.029 there. I know he's been there right by my side 00:22:54.029 --> 00:22:57.049 all the way through this. So having that theology, 00:22:57.210 --> 00:23:01.609 that real belief in who God is and how much he 00:23:01.609 --> 00:23:05.710 cares and loves for me and for my sons. You know, 00:23:05.750 --> 00:23:13.329 God loves my son. I love my son. And if I can 00:23:13.329 --> 00:23:17.869 see that mercy and grace and kindness that God... 00:23:19.579 --> 00:23:22.619 overlays on me, how much more have I got to do 00:23:22.619 --> 00:23:35.839 so for my son in this circumstance? This is Chip 00:23:35.839 --> 00:23:38.579 Ingram, and wow, I don't know about you, but 00:23:38.579 --> 00:23:42.920 at the lowest, lowest moments, we either turn 00:23:42.920 --> 00:23:47.059 far away from God or we turn to Him in the depth 00:23:47.059 --> 00:23:49.890 of our brokenness. And he shows up like never 00:23:49.890 --> 00:23:55.450 before. As he walked through that story, Guy's 00:23:55.450 --> 00:23:59.789 perspective, choose to consider it all joy. The 00:23:59.789 --> 00:24:02.470 Art of Survival, it's a tiny little book on James 00:24:02.470 --> 00:24:06.210 Wan that I think it's a message for our day in 00:24:06.210 --> 00:24:09.029 the midst of such pain. Whether it's a flood 00:24:09.029 --> 00:24:12.210 or whether it's fire or whether it's the loss 00:24:12.210 --> 00:24:15.410 of a mate, it's a lifeline of hope that God gave 00:24:15.410 --> 00:24:18.329 to the very first Christians. And in our next 00:24:18.329 --> 00:24:21.210 broadcast, Guy is going to talk about what happened 00:24:21.210 --> 00:24:24.650 next. You don't want to miss it. Thanks, Jim. 00:24:24.789 --> 00:24:27.210 And thank you all for listening. We pray Guy's 00:24:27.210 --> 00:24:30.730 powerful testimony has encouraged you and reminded 00:24:30.730 --> 00:24:34.130 you that even on our darkest day, God is with 00:24:34.130 --> 00:24:36.630 us and we can trust him. I hope you'll check 00:24:36.630 --> 00:24:39.250 out the moving end to Guy's story. You've been 00:24:39.250 --> 00:24:41.410 listening to a selected program that we wanted 00:24:41.410 --> 00:24:44.130 to share from this past week. So until next time, 00:24:44.190 --> 00:24:46.569 I'm Dave Drewy saying thanks for listening to 00:24:46.569 --> 00:24:49.289 this weekend edition of Living on the Edge.