How Gratitude Keeps You From Falling

​Discover God’s key to standing strong through life’s challenges. Learn how faith and divine guidance help you avoid falling and stay grounded.

​Trevor H Lund helps capable and caring people—who are growing weary in doing good—move from striving and stress to peace and purpose as they rediscover and enjoy the life God created them for. He does this as an encourager, writer, and authorpreneur. He encourages through his blog, podcast, and live casts at https://revtrev.com/, shares his writing at https://trevorlund.com/, and teaches in Live LIGHT Academy at https://livelight.ca/.

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​Have you ever wondered what God’s will is you? It’s an interesting study and you need to know God wants you to know his will. I’ll give you a quick overview of the times the Bible authors say “It’s God’s will…” We need to pay attention to them anytime they come up.

Here’s the three places I’ve found so far…

1 Thessalonians 4:3-5 (NLT): God’s will is for you to be holy, so stay away from all sexual sin. Then each of you will control his own body and live in holiness and honour

1 Peter 2:15 (NLT): It is God’s will that your honourable lives should silence those ignorant people who make foolish accusations against you.”

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 (NLT) Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

So God’s will for us is to be holy, live honourable, rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances.

We’re to be holy because he is holy. We’re to be honourable because He sends rain on the just and unjust. We’re to rejoice, pray and give thanks because it makes us more like him.

He rejoices over us with singing and quiets us with his love. He invites us into the cosmic dance called prayer because we become more and more like what we worship and we give thanks because it give us his mind about situations we face in the day to day of everyday.

Why focus on Gratitude?

Today we’re going to look at the fact it is God’s will for us to rejoice always, pray continually, and give thanks in all situations.

How can we practically do that today?

Is it even reasonable for us to in our busy lives?

Not only should we be doing it. I have found it to be a key God has given to us to not fall—regardless of the situation we are facing—but I’m going to warn you—we need to do it with our whole heart.

Can I pray?

The reality we face

You and I will have times, and days and seasons when circumstances may it very hard to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

And we have a perfect example of this in the book of Job.

Job’s hopeful life

There once was a man named Job who lived in the land of Uz. He was blameless—a man of complete integrity. He feared God and stayed away from evil. He had seven sons and three daughters. He owned 7,000 sheep, 3,000 camels, 500 teams of oxen, and 500 female donkeys. He also had many servants. He was, in fact, the richest person in that entire area. Job’s sons would take turns preparing feasts in their homes, and they would also invite their three sisters to celebrate with them. When these celebrations ended—sometimes after several days—Job would purify his children. He would get up early in the morning and offer a burnt offering for each of them. For Job said to himself, “Perhaps my children have sinned and have cursed God in their hearts.” This was Job’s regular practice.

What happened behind the scenes

One day the members of the heavenly court came to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil.” Satan replied to the Lord, “Yes, but Job has good reason to fear God. You have always put a wall of protection around him and his home and his property. You have made him prosper in everything he does. Look how rich he is! But reach out and take away everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, you may test him,” the Lord said to Satan. “Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don’t harm him physically.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence.

When hope disappeared

One day when Job’s sons and daughters were feasting at the oldest brother’s house, a messenger arrived at Job’s home with this news: “Your oxen were plowing, with the donkeys feeding beside them, when the Sabeans raided us. They stole all the animals and killed all the farmhands. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “The fire of God has fallen from heaven and burned up your sheep and all the shepherds. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, a third messenger arrived with this news: “Three bands of Chaldean raiders have stolen your camels and killed your servants. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.” While he was still speaking, another messenger arrived with this news: “Your sons and daughters were feasting in their oldest brother’s home. Suddenly, a powerful wind swept in from the wilderness and hit the house on all sides. The house collapsed, and all your children are dead. I am the only one who escaped to tell you.”

Job’s Response

Job stood up and tore his robe in grief. Then he shaved his head and fell to the ground to worship. He said, “I came naked from my mother’s womb, and I will be naked when I leave. The Lord gave me what I had, and the Lord has taken it away. Praise the name of the Lord!” In all of this, Job did not sin by blaming God.

Satan isn’t done

Job 2:1-9 One day the members of the heavenly court came again to present themselves before the Lord, and the Accuser, Satan, came with them. “Where have you come from?” the Lord asked Satan. Satan answered the Lord, “I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that’s going on.” Then the Lord asked Satan, “Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He is blameless—a man of complete integrity. He fears God and stays away from evil. And he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.” Satan replied to the Lord, “Skin for skin! A man will give up everything he has to save his life. But reach out and take away his health, and he will surely curse you to your face!” “All right, do with him as you please,” the Lord said to Satan. “But spare his life.” So Satan left the Lord’s presence, and he struck Job with terrible boils from head to foot.

Job’s wife’s Response

Job scraped his skin with a piece of broken pottery as he sat among the ashes. His wife said to him, “Are you still trying to maintain your integrity? Curse God and die.”

What we can learn about gratitude

If you know the rest of the story you know it goes on and on and on and on. It’s a beautiful poem in Hebrew.

Three friends come and they don’t know how to give safe space for Job to self-express his thoughts feelings and emotions without judgement, criticism or condemnation. Instead they give him judgement, criticism and condemnation.

Have you ever had friends like that?

My experience

When I was in the hospital recovering from a heart attack I had a friend come and talk to me his problems and not ask me about mine - at least I didn’t feel any judgement, criticism or condemnation.

We may never have had the highs and lows Job had, but If you’ve been on the journey with God for any length of time you will have felt like Job must have felt, or how his wife for sure felt.

What did you think his wife thought?

• Her Stable Life Shattered: Job was described as a prosperous and upright man, blessed with a large family, wealth, and good health. As his wife, she shared in this comfortable and secure life.
• She Lost Children: Job's ten children died suddenly when a great wind struck the house where they were feasting.
• She Lost Wealth: Job's livestock and servants were taken or killed by raiders and natural disasters.
• She must have been in Shock and Grief: The cumulative loss of their entire family and possessions in a short time would have caused overwhelming grief, fear, and despair.
• She probably feared Isolation: In their culture, a woman’s status was often tied to her husband’s wellbeing. Job’s suffering likely isolated her socially.
• She undoubtedly had Emotional Burden: She had to watch her husband suffer while grieving for their children and former life.

It’s often tougher on the spouse of the one going through health difficulties. They get very little support

TIP: Ask the spouse how they’re doing BEFORE you ask them how their spouse is doing.

What Job’s Wife Must Have Felt

Grief: Losing all her children and wealth would bring deep sorrow.
Fear: Facing an uncertain future without resources or family.
Hopelessness: Witnessing her husband's suffering and possibly feeling powerless to help.
Frustration/Despair: Urging Job to curse God suggests she was struggling with faith or could not understand why they were suffering so much.

We all will have times we feel like Job’s wife.

You need to know that you’re not surprising God or offending him when you have those feelings. He invites you to pour your heart out to him.

If you’re there now. If you’re thinking “I wish I could curse God and die.”

TIP: Go into the Psalms and find a Psalm that feels the way you do. Then camp out on it until you know God knows how you feel and you exchange your problems for his peace.

But for the rest of us—if we’re not feeling that way—you need to know that God has key to keep us from falling. It’s a rhythm we can have in the day-to-day of our everyday. It comes from these two thoughts we find in scripture.

Gratitude transforms our perspective; worship sustains our steps.

Where do I get this?

It comes from where we see the opposite happening—the thing I want to encourage you to avoid.

Romans 1:21-22 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools.

Why is it important that worship God as God?

When we don’t worship God as God or even give him thanks our thinking becomes foolish. We start calling good evil and can start calling evil good. We fall away from His presence. We fall out of his will. We fall from the faith. The fruit of spirit stops growing and we start to follow the desires of our sinful nature. And what seemed like foolishness starts making sense.

We have all of creation to look at and see there is a God. But it’s too common of a conversation for me to have that people acknowledge that, but never worship Him as God.

They make up their own ideas about what happens when they die and it affects how they live their life. There’s no Lordship of Christ in their lives. And it’s sad as they live without peace and hope and joy. It’s tragic when they’re about to face eternity and their hope is based on their own ideas, not the word of God.

Make sure you always worship God as God. Don’t lose the awe. Acknowledge he is Lord and live like He’s Lord of your life. Find out what pleases the Lord - His will is for you is to be holy, live honourable, rejoice always, pray continually and give thanks in all circumstances and to find out what pleases Him.

Why is it important that we give thanks?

Besides we know it’s his will for us, gratitude is something we’ve studied psychologically. It does us a lot of good.

Greater life satisfaction and positive emotions
Lower levels of depressive symptoms
Better relationships
More generous and helpful behaviours
Improved sleep
Possible physical health benefits
Greater resilience during hardship

• Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life.
• Wood, A. M., Froh, J. J., & Geraghty, A. W. A. (2010). Gratitude and well-being: A review and theoretical integration.
• Dickens, L. R. (2017). Using gratitude to promote positive change: A series of meta-analyses investigating the effectiveness of gratitude interventions.
• Allen, S. (2018). The science of gratitude. Greater Good Science Center.

So that’s is why is it so important that we worship him as God and give him thanks:

Gratitude transforms our perspective; worship sustains our steps.

Where do we see it in the positive?

Gratitude Transforms our perspective

Philippians 4:6–7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

With gratitude—when you exchange your problems for His peace—your anxiousness is replaced by his peace. Your perspective changes when you give thanks with your whole heart.

Worship sustains our steps

Isaiah 40:29–31
He gives power to the weak
and strength to the powerless.
Even youths will become weak and tired,
and young men will fall in exhaustion.
But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength.
They will soar high on wings like eagles.
They will run and not grow weary.
They will walk and not faint.

Gratitude helps us trust God to good and in a good mood. When we trust God is good and in a good mood—worship is the natural expression of a thankful heart.

Gratitude transforms our perspective; worship sustains our steps.

Does This Really Matter?

We are all going to face grief. We’re all going to come face-to-face with fear. We’re all going to have times of hopeless. There will be times we are in frustration and despair.

You may have lived your life the best way you knew how. You may have done all you knew how to do and still there is problem, after problem after problem and the blessing that used to overwhelm all get stripped away.

If you haven’t yet be forewarned you need to know God hasn’t left you without a path through.

How did you make it through?

Did you become better or did you become bitter?

We can all stumble. We can all fall. (see James 3:2)

Remember the proverb:

Proverbs 24:16 (NIV) "For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again,"

And the psalm:

Psalm 37:23-24 The Lord directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the Lord holds them by the hand.

We can stumble…but we never want to fall. We don’t want to fall away. We don’t want to curse God and die.

1 Corinthians 15:58 So, my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord, for you know that nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.

What If?

What if—though you may stumble—you know you’d never fall?

What if you could naturally rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances? What if it wasn’t forced and wasn’t toxic?

Imagine

What does it feel like to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances?

You’ve been there. You’ve had times and seasons when it flowed naturally. When you have peace that remains steady no matter what storms arise—a deep calm rooted in trust. Joy bubbling up from within, independent of external situations, a lightness in your heart. A constant conversation with God, where your mind and heart stay connected throughout the day—like breathing in and out. Strength and resilience that come from knowing you’re not alone, that every moment is held by something greater. Freedom from worry—replaced by surrender and hope—even when life feels uncertain or hard. It’s an ongoing attitude, a choice to live with an open heart—celebrating, trusting, and thanking no matter what.

You were created for this. You were created to walk with God in garden in cool of day.

If it was lost in fall, it was restored at the cross.

You don’t have to conform, you can be transformed.

You don’t have to be like Job’s wife. You can endure anything and have your faith grow.

How can you endure and grow?

That’s a great question. I’m so glad you asked.

That’s why I developed the Make Space to Be in AWE tool

Gratitude transforms our perspective; worship sustains our steps.

I want to praise God and give thanks to Him everyday. I do it at the start of my prayer time.

Psalm 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.

Make Space to Be in AWE tool

Give Thanks to God with All Your Heart

A - Awareness — Decide intentionally to give thanks
W - Witness — Feel gratitude for what you give thanks for
E - Express — Show appreciation for what you feel gratitude for which naturally becomes worship when you give thanks to God with all your heart. (See Psalm 9:1, Psalm 111:1, Psalm 119:7)

Practice giving thanks to God with all your heart.

Remember

Gratitude transforms our perspective; worship sustains our steps.

Challenge to start Gratitude

The challenge today is to use the Make Space to Be in AWE tool l everyday.

I use it at the start of my prayer time. I enter his gates with thanksgiving and naturally flow into worship and praise. But use it whenever you feel AWE… maybe it’s when you see the sunrise, or stop to consider a flower, or see your kids pictures on the mantel…The challenge is to slow down enough to be in AWE.

Next Steps to Grow Gratitude

If you had trouble with practicing giving thanks to God with your heart…

I’m going to be running a the Live LIGHT 70-Day Gratitude Challenge from Friday, September 18, 2026 – Thursday November 26, 2026.

The challenge is everyday for 70 days

Decide to give thanks
Feel gratitude for what you give thanks for
Show appreciation for what you feel gratitude for

In 21 days you’ll be 10% happier. This has been proven by scientific studies. Neuroplasticity tells us doing something 3 sets of 21 days —or 63-70 days actually creates new neural pathways in our brains so it becomes natural for you to give thanks always….which is God’s will for you.

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The next best time to plant a tree is today.

The best time to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances was the day you made Jesus your Lord. The next best time is today.

You like to get into the gratitude challenge at get daily prompts to give thanks you can start today https://revtrev.link/thanks Or join with everyone else on September 18.

Conclusion

In this world you will have problems, but take heart because Jesus has overcome the world.

God’s key to not falling when those problems come is to prepare today to rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances.

Start by Make Space To Be in AWE. Give thanks daily with all your heart to God.

Can I Pray for You?

Communal Prayer Based on Psalm 16

Keep us safe, our God,
for in you we take refuge.
We say to the Lord, “You are our Lord;
apart from you we have no good thing.”

Lord, you alone are our portion and our cup;
you make our lot secure.

The boundary lines have fallen for us in pleasant places;
surely we have a delightful inheritance.

We will praise the Lord, who counsels us;
even at night our hearts instruct us.

We keep our eyes always on the Lord.
With him at our right hand, we shall not be shaken.

Therefore our hearts are glad and our tongues rejoice;
our bodies also will rest secure,

because you will not abandon us to the realm of the dead,
nor will you let your faithful ones see decay

You make known to us the path of life;
you fill us with joy in your presence,
with eternal pleasures at your right hand.

My Story - 6 Things I Never Want to Forget

​Listen to My Story and Find 6 essential reminders to help you stay strong, focused, and motivated during tough times. Find hope and keep going even when life gets hard.

Life isn’t always easy, but you’re not alone. In this message, we’ll cover 6 things to never forget when things get tough. Learn how to stay positive, build resilience, and find motivation when you need it most. Whether you’re facing challenges or just need a boost, these reminders will help you keep going and grow stronger every day. Subscribe for more tips on personal growth and overcoming life’s obstacles!

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Notes for My Story - 6 Thing To Never Forget

My Story - 6 Things I Never What to Forget

I’m going to do something I don’t think I’ve ever done. Every time I speak I ask God for His words for His people. When I did that to prepare for this message, I felt him leading me to share my story.

I will often share my stories when I speak. I think I’ve only shared my story once…and I was a lot younger then so you get a longer version.

I don’t want to think this is all about me. This needs to be my story about being impacted by God. I want to prompt you to think about your own story with God. Our stories connect us and I so look forward to hearing more of your stories.

Before we begin:

Can I pray?

My name is Trevor Lund. I’m the second child—oldest male of four siblings. Janine is the youngest. Shawn is the younger than me, then our oldest sister Jacqueline is married to Dan and they have 3 adult kids.

Being Anonymous

Growing up, our dad was the “New pastor” in a small town, even though he was there for 16 years when I left for university.

He also taught at the High School and everybody knew Mom, so whenever I got into trouble the news got home before I did. I feel like I got into trouble regularly. I’ve never been one to avoid trouble.

But I was tired of everyone knowing my business and decided I wanted to be anonymous when I entered university. I was accepted for early admittance and got my student code. I told all my friends they needed to call me by it, so I’d get used to being anonymous. I’d introduce myself “I’m 30-42-68, my friends call me 30”.

My English teacher called my name in class one day and after I ignored her for a while I responded “I’m 30-42-68 my friends call me 30”. “Well 30…” she started. I interrupted, “You can call me 30-42-68”. “Trevor!” My wife has that same tone since I’ve gotten hearing aids.

I wanted to be anonymous and most of the first year I was anonymous.

And I didn’t hear anything positive about religion. If anyone said anything about Christianity it was negative. The most positive thing I heard was that “religion slows down society so that it can accept the inevitable change so it doesn’t happen so quickly.”

Questioning my faith

So I think it’s perfectly natural I questioned my faith.

The first question I asked was “Is God real?”

But I had seen too many miracles and had too many encounters with the living God growing up to not quickly move on from that question. I knew there is a God.

The next question was “Is the God I was taught the real God?”

I mean, I knew I might have some things wrong. I remember—it must have been when I was two or three—I learned the verse “Be sure your sin will find you out” and I understood that to mean, if I was going to do something wrong, I’d better be sure to get away with it. It may explain my grade school years.

I made a decision to study the religions of the world. I’d studied their history and theology. I read books, went to talks and lectures and talked with people who were Hindu and Muslim and Buddhist and Wiccan and Jewish and Taoist. I studied ancient Egyptian, Sumarian, Greek and Roman Pantheon and Norse and Celt folklore.

But I also decided to read the Bible as I studied other religions. I wanted to know what the Bible actually said.

I read the Bible more and had more autodidactic studies than I spent time in my coursework…and I have the marks that first year to prove it.

And I ended up deciding that if Jesus didn’t die and rise again, I would be a Taoist. But since he did, my faith was my faith, not just my parent’s faith.

After my first year

After the first year of university I thought I would go to Bible College—not to be a pastor, but to goof off and have fun. I gave a speech at an awards ceremony when I was in grade 10 and someone from the town came up and told me, “you’ll be a [expletive] good pastor like your dad one day.” To which I responded, “Don’t wish that curse on me.”

My plan was to work all summer and save up for the new HMS Missions Class they were starting up. Who wouldn’t want to got on a mission’s trip?

But I blew my knee out playing slo pitch against the nurses and I couldn’t work all summer. If you’re going to injure yourself, do it around nurses. I had excellent care before the ambulance came.

My story about my summer

So since I couldn’t work I decided I’d be a counsellor to summer camp for another year. I had spent a week each summer doing that since I was 13.

I didn’t tell the camp director I was in brace. They didn’t tell me they were giving me 12 12-year olds who were all pastor’s kids, deacon’s kids and/or convicted felons.

It was an interesting week.

The second last night service focussed on divine healing. I wasn’t seeking God for healing at this point. When I first blew out my knee I asked him for healing, but He gave me deep sense that I didn’t need to worry about next year and this summer was a gift. He was taking care of things.

So I went up for prayer not really to be healed but to show these 12 12-year olds that I believed in healing. The speaker prayed for me then stepped back and said “God has been trying to say something to you. You need to hear it.”

And then I heard the audible voice of God say “You’re a pastor”.

And I was sprawled on the floor. I felt so insignificant and so highly valued. I was in awe of God in a way I had never been in awe of God before.

Two hours later I was sitting on the front pew and the camp director came up and asked me I knew where my 12-12 year olds were. Apparently I lost them. Nothing burned down, no police had to be called. I found them fairly quickly.

Not wanting to leave my brain

I couldn’t work that summer, so I didn’t have money to do a missions trip, but I could still get a student loan to continue at University.

I think if I would have left university at that point I wouldn’t come back. And I would have missed so much. I would have had doubts that an intellectual approach to experiencing God was possible.

I had seen far too many examples where they were at odds. When I was 13 or 14 years old I questioned one travelling minister over something he said in the service. He was blaming people for their lack of faith for not being healed. I pointed out Jesus blamed the disciples lack of faith when they couldn’t do miracles. He went bright red and stuck his finger in my face across the dinner table and said, “I’ve seen the dead raised, you don’t question me boy.”

I told God then, “If I have to leave my brain at the door to see miracles, I don’t want to see miracles.”

You don’t need to leave your brain at the door to see miracles.

Returning the University not wanting to be Anonymous

I went back to university and wanted to connect. I hung out with students who were so confident in what they believed and realized I was so much more confident in what I believed. I started questioning the profs who promoted anti-Christ sentiment.

I remember one time I said in class, “I’m a Christian and what you said isn’t right.” She mocked me, “Was anyone else offended?” I turned around and two-thirds of the class put up their hands and I asked the room: “Where were you 2 minutes ago?”

My Story about Meeting Karen

I joined the Pentecostal Campus Ministries and met Karen when her and Shirley started coming. When we started dating I started coming to this church with her. She had her salvation experience here and her grandparents were coming.

Plans after university

While we were here, I found out there were seminaries that still taught people to love God. I thought you went to seminaries to be talked out of your faith. I decided to build on my undergrad and get a Masters. And since things going well with Karen I figured I could stay close to home and went to Edmonton Baptist Seminary (now Taylor).

Placement for Seminary

I knew I needed a placement when I was in seminary. And I think my mom talked to my uncle Gordon. He called me and asked me to consider joining him at his church—if things worked out.

He called me just before our wedding. If all of these improbable things happened, he would be looking for a new youth guy. I didn’t give it any thought. I think Karen and I prayed once about it. I told Karen all those things won’t likely happen. I needed a placement while I was in Seminary, but we’d work that out sometime.

My Story how I went to My first church

When we just returned from our honeymoon and I got a call from Gordon. “Do you want to come meet the elders?” “Sure”, I said. “Why?” The improbable happened and he’d like me to apply.

I was the youth guy, then youth pastor then associate Pastor, then after Gordon retired and I graduated from Seminary I was eventually asked to be the Senior pastor.

Walking oxymoron

Became a senior pastor at age 24. A walking oxymoron. I had 7 retired pastor and missionaries couples in my church that had more than double the ministry experience than I had experience at being alive.

I knew I didn’t know anything and that was what helped me.

My Story about how I prayed a lot

It made me pray… a lot. My Elders supported me to do this. Everyone knew my office hours started at 10:00. I could be there at 6:00 and pray for 4 hours before anyone came to see me.

Both our kids were born when we were there. When our kids were old enough for school I’d come in earlier, go home to help them get up and take them to school and come back and then still have more time to pray.

The church grew. People could belong before they believed. We had so many baptisms. It was so much fun. We literally had a meeting to discuss what to do with all the money we had coming in. In budgets, baptisms and butts—the key metrics every church worries about and very few talk about—we were ticking every box and running on full cylinders.

Not all rainbows and sunshine

Don’t get me wrong, there were a LOT of problems…but they were usually fun problems to have - absolutely impossible things that God had to solve, we couldn’t. Sometimes the problems were people who should have known better. Those weren’t as much fun.

Prophetic breaking

One Sunday, a daughter of the grandmothers of the congregation was visiting her mom and after the service she came to me and was surprised I spoke so good. Apparently the first time she heard me speak I wasn’t as impressive.

She could have been there the time I think I fell asleep during my own sermons —I was a young father and thought sleep was for wimps…and I might have been a little boring.

Anyway, she told me she saw a vision as I was speaking. She saw me sitting at a table writing and the pages of the I wrote flew off the table and went around the world and touched the shackles people were wearing and the chains they were burdened with broke off.

What she didn’t know was that she broke something over me.

I always enjoyed going into bookstores and libraries but I was getting more and more overwhelmed with my inability to add anything meaningful to the conversation. I was almost having panic attacks in book stores. “What could I possibly contribute?” But her prophetic words broke that off of me and I decided I needed to learn how to write. So I took classes and joined writing groups and went to writer’s workshops and writing retreats and I wrote and wrote and wrote and wrote.

God pulling at my heart

And soon God was pulling at my heart.

He had told Karen and I both—before we were married—that the bulk of our ministry would be outside Canada. Since I was better with dead languages than I was learning spoken languages I figured it would be somewhere in the English speaking world.

I made connections in England, the US, Australia South Africa and New Zealand over the years. And New Zealand really pulled at my heart. I was offered a church in a university town there. I fell in love with the people of the town, but felt God say it wasn’t time and when it would be time, our only reason would be obedience.

But with my heart in two continents, my patience was stretched thin and one day I got angry when I was the only one to put the chairs away. I pulled hard to lift a rather large stack of chairs and heard a pop in my back.

My Story about Needing surgery

My back needed surgery. With our health system in Canada, I couldn’t see the surgeon for a year and a half.

The pain was so intense one day that I couldn’t take it. All I could do was stand on a stair with my right leg dangling in the air. I was there for hours. When Karen got home she took me to the hospital. They gave me a shot of morphine and said they could do nothing else unless it was an emergency. I would know it was an emergency if I lost control of my bowels. The doctor put me on medication to manage the pain.

He gave me muscle relaxants to stop the back spasms and warned me, “They'll make you sleepy.” I was on anti-inflammatory medication to bring down the swelling and was warned to stay away from ibuprofen as the anti-inflammatory meds could eat a hole through my stomach. I was put on a narcotic for pain relief. They worked great, but I was cautioned, “Just don’t become addicted.” Finally I was put on anti–epileptic medication to deaden the nerve receptors. This was my favourite warning: “These could possibly could shut down the white blood cells, so see your doctor bi-weekly for blood work and to check for the signs of an ulcer.”

My epiphany

It was during this time I had an epiphany - and no, I don’t think it was the drugs. I thought about my doctors who were treating my symptoms. Baring a miracle —unless the cause of my pain was dealt with through surgery — the treatments that were meant to manage the symptoms could do me much more harm. The epiphany was that we were doing the same thing in the church. We were treating the symptoms, not dealing with the core issues—and were likely doing more harm than good. I didn’t want to do that any more. I wanted to give people real help to deal with the core issues.

I needed to learn how to get to the root of issue and help people with practical and real help.

How things Sped up

My father-in-law installed MRI’s and got me into one right away— I think I bumped some animals that used the unused MRI at night. That meant the specialist could see me and there was a cancelation so he could do the surgery a lot sooner. I had the MRI, the meeting with the surgeon, the surgery and fully recovered before the MRI I was scheduled for was originally booked for.

That was an answer to prayer for Karen. She told God she’d agree to what God was stirring in me after being there for 10 years.

Laying everything on the altar

I felt God asked us to leave our family, friends, finances and future on the altar and leave to go to New Zealand.

So we announced our resignation and told them we’d be leaving in 6 months.

Then my Dad was diagnosed with Bulbar ALS and given about 18 months to live.

I could have told the church I was staying. They could have voted on me staying if they wanted. But I spoke with Dad and he said “You need to obey what God is telling you to do.”

My Story about Leaving with The wrong attitude

I went to New Zealand with the wrong attitude. I went demanding something from God. If I gave up so much—I knew obedience came with a blessing—I wanted open heaven.

God wanted to teach me faith.

I don’t know what open heaven means to you, but January 1, 2005 we landed in Auckland New Zealand—a city at that time of just over a million people. We arrived at 6:00 AM and everyone was at the beach.

We had a family friend come from the beach, drive us to his house down an empty 8 lane highway. I was waiting for tumble weeds to tumble on by. He set us up to sleep off the jet lag and gave us directions to join them at the beach in a couple of days. It wasn’t what I expected as open heaven.

And yet I think we did have open heaven over us.

Once we were settled, Karen and I were going to separate prayer times so one of us could be with the kids. I went in the morning to this church who prayed scripture with music and it was always amazing. Karen went in the evening with some people who connected with us in our church.

But eventually we wanted to pray together so we opened our home and invited people to come. One of us would be putting the kids down and the other would answer the door. We always had powerful and prophetic prayer times and people would leave and we’d ask each other how the other knew them. We each thought the other knew who was there and it turns out we often prayed with strangers. I think that was a bit of open heaven.

When I felt God Speak The Second Call

I started my first novel in New Zealand. I wrote advertising features for the local paper. I was out on a walk with God one day lamenting my situation and asking why he had me do it and I sensed his voice again. It stopped me in my tracks. I felt him say, “I’ve given you time to write. Why are you doing everything but?”

So I finished the first draft of my novel and after consulting with people of great faith—who I thought would tell us to stiff upper lip it for the sake of being faithful— all of them came back with the same answer. We needed to be with family. We came home to be with family after only 9 months.

Coming home

I came home and helped my dad finish his book before he died. In the process of helping him publish it, I realized there had got to be a better way to facilitate self-publishing. I started a publishing company on a credit card. Never make a major life decision when you’re grieving. Never start a business on a credit card.

Experiencing Rejection

The other thing going on when we returned was we faced rejection on what seems like every front. I was told by a pastor friend I was expecting to work with, “You have too much vision.” A potential Christian employer decided, “You’d be too evangelistic.” A former congregation member said, “What happened? You used to be someone.” Friends told us, “You talk too much about weird stuff.”

I had a book publisher call me up at tell me my novel would lead people to hell. What book publishers has time to call up an author on their slush pile? I tell you, we were getting rejection from everywhere.

I went for one interview at a local paper and the guy I’d be replacing asked me “Did I hear you on the radio last night” I told him I did some interviews for my books a little earlier, but I didn’t do anything live local yesterday. “No that was you. I heard you. That’s what you should be doing! You don’t want to work here.” That was probably the best rejection I had.

I had a pastor call me in to ask why I feel I can use Revtrev.com as my domain as I’m not paid to be a pastor. I said being paid as a pastor doesn’t make you a pastor. Pastor isn’t a title, it’s a gift Jesus gives the church. I then told him “God’s gift and his call are irrevocable and I have more people interacting with my website every day than I’ve ever spoken to in one location…and that includes yours.”

What do you do with all that?

My Story about Sucking it up

God is the potter, I’m the clay. I’m the work of His hands. What pot can tell the potter it’s not being made right?

I didn’t know I just piling it all on and mourning the death of my dad and I was oblivious to how angry I was at God.

Bill Johnson

But I heard I message from Bill Johnson who was mourning the death of his dad around the same time. They had seen so many people healed from cancer and his dad died of cancer. He was processing things on a different level than was possible for me.

He told the story of John the Baptist being in prison and sending his disciples to Jesus to ask he was the one or if they should wait for another. The spirit of the Lord was on Jesus to proclaim freedom to the prisoners and his cousin was in jail. He wanted to know if he had gotten it wrong. And Jesus told his disciples to tell John what they saw and “Blessed is he who is unoffended because of me. Bill taught me I could be offended at God.

And it took me out of a funk. Well, confession and repentance took me out of the funk.

If you live offended to God you need to confess and repent. Your peace is more important than your vindication.

My Story about the Negativity Fast

When we came home and we attended a church plant with family and friends from our first church. One day a friend came up to me to tell me she saw a vision of a wave of negativity crashing into the city and overwhelming this church. I told her to go talk to the pastor.

But during worship I thought of the word “Negativity Fast” and googled it. And I became angry that there was no Christian website encouraging people to not be negative. It was all relational gurus and Buddhists monks that cornered the market. So during the break I went up to the pastor—who was talking to my friend and gave him a plan to run a negativity fast for the church. He was more than happy to let me do it.

2006 ran my first Negativity Fast. Next year is the 20th anniversary of the first one. I have had over 10,000 people go through the material.

My greatest ministry happens outside of Canada. The internet wasn’t invented when God told me my greatest ministry would happen outside Canada.

The problem of finding success

Nobody ever tells you about being a success online. I had 10,000 people sign up for my email list and my email list provider wanted to charge me tens of thousands of dollars to send emails. I couldn’t afford that. My podcast had 5,000+ downloads every episode—this was back when nobody had a podcast—RevTrev Radio was one of the first. I was storing the episodes on Amazon AWS and its price for downloads quickly became untenable for me. I had so many people coming to my website that it was constantly crashing. I had Turkish Muslims Cyber Jihadist take over a site - Don’t think you’re doing effect ministry online unless you’ve had Turkish Muslim Cyber Jihadist take out a site—or you can lose a facebook page with 12,000 subscribers to hacker. Then I think you can say you’re doing ministry online. That’s happened to me too. BTW our church website has been hacked, but we’ve tightened up security on it.

At the time I didn’t have any books or courses or coaching to sell to offset those costs.

He was teaching me hope

Back in those day, Twitter was a conversation and miracles were happening on it. People would send me things to pray for. I’d tweet out a quick prayer. Answers would happen. I would have people ask me questions. And someone had a question that I didn’t know how to answer. I asked Karen about it and she knew the answer she said - “You need to teach her how to hope.”

So I wrote a book - Hope in Transition and realized that through everything we had gone through God was teaching me how to hope.

Doors kept closing

But doors kept on closing.

Eventually—I wanted to be useful—so we returned to this church because Karen’s grandparents were coming and I thought at least I could drive them. But Stan gave me opportunity to preach. When every door was forcibly slammed in my face. We came back and it helped our healing.

Stan opened the door then other doors were opened.

My second church

I was called by a friend and asked if I would consider coming to their church. It was started by another friend and… As I prayed about it I felt God tell me if I went, He would teach me about love.

It was during this time I feel he entrusted me with the seed of the message to help people

Live LIGHT which now means to Live…

…Loved

…Insightful

…Grateful

…Hopeful

…Trusting

To Live LOVED was what kicked it off.

It was a hurting church and hurt people hurt people. And we saw some baptisms and saw some good things happen, but our kids saw hypocrisy in the church that I’m afraid that’s become an excuse for them.

And we left after 4 years, just before that church closed its doors.

Returning to Highway

We returned to this church. We needed more healing.

Eventually I was speaking here and doing some speaking and seminars at other churches.

My Story about the menacing voice

I remember the Sunday I spoke on practicing the Sabbath. I said something extemporaneously like “If you don’t take a regular sabbath, a sabbath can take you. It happened to ancient Israel, what makes you think it won’t happen to you.”

I sat down after the message and felt a menacing voice say, “That’s the last sermon you’re ever going to preach.”

And I don’t have time for menacing voices. Jesus didn’t argue with demons, I don’t give them the time of day. That was the twelfth time I spoke in 14 weeks. My books were selling and people were promoting my books. By the grace of God, I’m not going to fall. Why should I worry?

My Story - a bit - about the Heart attack

But a week later I had a heart attack.

I didn’t go in for another week, but that’s a long story you don’t need to hear right now. Just don’t do what I did.

And as I recovered in hospital I remembered that voice and it screamed in my head.

Ongoing health

Since the heart attack, I’ve had two stents put in and surgery for two types of carcinoma. I’ve had AFIB and Cardiac Ablation surgery, I am being treated for fibromyalgia. I’ve lost a range of frequencies in my hearing, so I wear hearing aids. My arms got too short and font on phones only get so big so I have to wear readers.

But God…

But I’ve also had an atheist grab me and ask me to pray so she can have my peace. I’ve had a nurse tell me “you’re far too joyful for someone in this situation.” I’ve been able to tell people about the hope that I have in Jesus.

I’ve learned I can create safe space for people to self express their thoughts, feelings and emotions without judgment criticism and condemnation.

And I’ve seen miracles. Miracles when I’m the only one to have faith, miracles when friends of the one who needs prayer are the ones who have the faith. And miracles when I have absolutely no faith.

I have seen the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. I’ve been through the fire and not been burned. Through the deep water and not drowned. Through the rushing water and have not been overwhelmed. He has been good to me. By the grace of God I am who I am and His grace to me was not without effect.

6 Things I Never Want to Forget

And in all of that and because of all of that was there are 6 things I never want to forget.

All of us have gone through the fire. The good news is He has brought you through. The sad news is you’re still in a world that has yet to be redeemed, surrounded by people who are at best being redeemed, and you have an enemy that comes to steal kill and destroy. So what do you do when you get that phone call that drops you to your knees?

You’re going to need to know how to ENDURE. How can you endure whatever trials come your way?

That’s a great question, I’m so glad you asked.

This is based on the first tool I ever created with an acronym. I’ve had to tweak it because God has been reminding me of one more thing I never want to forget.

How to ENDURE Tool

E — Ever remember to never

E — Ever remember to never give God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy because Jesus came to give us life and have it to the full. John 10:10

Story - Living offended at God.

Women in seminar…

Deal with the lies you’re believing as truth. Get to the root, don’t just treat the symptoms. Our emotions show us what we truly believe. Let Holy Spirit replace the lies you believe with the truth He reveals. You can feel like you’ve forgiven. You can have peace at all times and in every situation.

Am I giving God credit for the works of the one who comes to steal, kill and destroy?

N — Never forget to treat all hardship as discipline

N — Never forget to treat all hardship as discipline (Hebrews 12:7-11) knowing He is a Good Father and is working all things together for good. Romans 8:28

Story - saints overcome. By the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony

You’ve heard my story, I want to hear your story. You have been through the fire…it is by the word of your testimony that you overcome.

Am I treating all hardship as disciple?

D — Don’t ever ignore that the God of all hope

D — Don’t ever ignore that the God of all hope fills me with all peace and joy as I trust in Him, so I can overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15:13

Nothing is more important than your peace. Peace is the emotion that is to rule our hearts.

I’ve had too many Christians too many times tell me they are trusting God but just can’t stop worrying. Show me your peace and I’ll know you’re trusting God. Show me your joy and I’ll know you’re trusting God. Show me your hope and I’ll know you’re trusting God. Your emotions show you what you actually believe. If you don’t have peace and hope and joy, go back to the last place you had them. Where did you lose them? Confession and repentance works wonders to get them back.

Do I overflow with hope by the power of Holy Spirit?

U — Understand that I can worry about nothing

U — Understand that I can worry about nothing but pray about everything with thankgiving (Philippians 4:6-7), knowing that giving thanks in all circumstances is His will for me. 1 Thessalonians 5:18

Story - Last year I did my first 70-Day Gratitude Challenge. I just finished the second one last week. Every day for 70-Days I decide to give thanks, feel grateful for what I decide to give thanks for and show appreciation for what I feel gratitude for. That’s giving thanks with your whole heart. We don’t learn habits in 21 days but in 3 sets of 21 or 63-70 days the neural pathways realign to form a habit. In 70 days you realign your brain so you can give thanks at all times…and that’s God’s will for you.

Do I worry about nothing but pray about everything with thanksgiving?

R — Remember to cast all my cares upon him

R — Remember to cast all my cares upon him, because he cares for me (1 Peter 5:7) and to never leave a time of prayer without exchanging my problems for His peace.

After my Gratitude Challenge last year I felt God calling me to calling me to seek him, I didn’t know what that would look like with my current reality.

It ended up doing an extended prayer and bible and fellowship with Holy Spirit time every day. And I keep track to bring all my requests to him and remember all the answers to prayer. Look… my God answers my prayers. Worry about nothing. Pray about everything with thanksgiving…

Do I exchange my problems for His peace?

E — Embrace that He has showered me with His kindness

E — Embrace that He has showered me with His kindness, along with all wisdom and understanding (Galatians 6:8) so everything is figureoutable.

I don’t know what lies ahead. But I know He’s already there. I know I can trust him to prove himself good. I know he not only prompts me to do his will He empowers me to accomplish every good work prompted by faith. I know his favour is on me and His blessings overwhelm me.

Even though in this world I will have trouble, I take heart knowing he’s overcome the world.

Do I believe He has showered me with kindness and all wisdom and understanding?

My Story Conclusion

That’s my story and that’s 6 things I never want to forget. I know I must ENDURE and encourage you to do the same.

I don’t know what impossible situations you are facing. I don’t know what lies you’re believing. I don’t know if you feel rejected or forgotten or alone, or if you’re dealing with health issues or have been diagnosed with something scary. But I want you know God is for you and since He’s for you who can be against you?

He is going to finish the good work he started in you. He rejoices over you with singing and quiets you with His love. I want you to be encouraged today. I want your courage to arise.

Blessings

Will you stand with me. It’s time for a blessing.

“The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.”
—Numbers 6:24–26

Can I pray?