In the most recent excerpt of my book, Why? Answers to Weather the Storms of Life, I shared with you my absolute weakest moment during my battle with cancer.
I was angry and depressed, and I lashed out at God. But He responded as He always does — in love. He guided my footsteps to a bookshelf where a book titled Depression had sat for months unread. It was 100 percent clear that He wanted me to read that book right then.
The Scripture verses and the Gospel truths the author shared soothed my hurting heart. I finally had peace.
It wasn’t until the next day, though, that I truly learned how much God had been looking out for me in my weakest moment …
* * *
Later that day, I received a phone call from Morgan Hout, my dear friend who was then the head coach of Liberty University’s football team. He said, “Vernon, we are having a party on campus tonight, and we would really like for you to attend. One of our graduates is playing in his first NFL game of Monday Night Football. We are going to watch it on the big screen.”
I said, “Coach, I am not up for a party.” He asked me to at least come for a few minutes because it would really mean so much to the players. Reluctantly, I agreed to come.
When I arrived, I headed to the food and beverage area to get something to drink. A huge lineman — I don’t even know his name — walked up to me and said, “Can I speak with you?”
We sat down, and he said, “I want you to know that I pray for you every day. After every practice, Coach has the entire team take a knee on the 50-yard line and pray that God will heal you. I want you to know that I believe God will heal you, but I need to ask you something.”
He said, “Last night, I was driving back on campus, and I got this strong urge to pray for you. I have never experienced anything like that before — it wouldn’t go away. I didn’t know what to do, so I pulled off the road and began praying for you for the longest time. When I finished, I noticed that it was a little after 6 p.m.”
He paused, and then said, “Do you mind me asking if anything unusual was going on last night at 6 p.m.?
It suddenly dawned on me … I was able to connect all the dots.
In my weakest moment, when I was angry at God and felt alone, depressed, forgotten — when I could not even pray for myself, God was there. He did not forget me. He loved and cared about me so much that He had a football player pray for me when I could not pray for myself.
When I hit rock bottom, I had never been lower, I had never been lonelier, and I had never been more depressed in my whole life. But at the time of my greatest need, God was there just as He promised.
At the time of my greatest depression, He was there to comfort, give grace, and strengthen my weakness. He’ll be there for you, too.
When you come to that place of being all alone, when you’ve exhausted all your human resources — that is when you will find a greater strength than you ever believed possible. That is where you will win the battle of emotion … one of the most vicious battles of your life.
* * *
God taught me so many lessons during that dark chapter of my life. And I want to share them with you! You can order your copy of Why? Answers to Weather the Storms of Life today for just $8.99.
You’ll also have the opportunity to download a companion devotional and study guide absolutely FREE.