We live in busy times! I meet a lot of Christians who aren’t getting enough rest and who are overwhelmed by the busyness of life. Sadly, they’re wearing themselves out.

That’s not God’s will for our lives!

Is it possible to find a balance so we’re not stressed and tired all the time? I think it is! Here are four ideas—both spiritual and practical—for living a balanced life.

1. Stay full.

Proverbs 18:14 says when your spirit is strong, it will sustain you. That means staying filled up with the Word of God. That’s what balances your life.

Don’t wait for trouble to come before you start reading your Bible;read it every day! Read it until its promises seem more real than anything happening around you. Be cause after all, the troubles are subject to change—God’s Word is eternal.

Only you can feed your spirit on the Word of God and keep it strong. Matthew 6:33 says when you seek God (and His way of doing things) first, everything you need will be added to you.

That means staying full of the Word—every day. Develop a daily Bible-reading habit, and you’ll soon find that your spirit stays strong, which will lead to a balanced life.

2. Get your sleep.

Psalm 127:2 says, “It is in vain for you to rise up early, to stay up late, and to eat the bread of hard toil, for He gives sleep to His beloved.” Getting enough sleep can make all the difference in your life.

In the Gospels, we often see Jesus resting, separating Himself from the crowd to refill. He knew it was important. Life can quickly get out of balance if you don’t get enough sleep.

Norvel Hayes often helped people get out of depression and/or negativity just by getting them to take a break and rest. He said, “Tired people lean toward problems; rested people lean toward answers.”

You might think you don’t have time to sleep, but if you don’t learn to balance this, you’ll spend the time later by being sick or making wrong choices. Learn to balance rest times now or pay later.

3. Discipline your flesh.

In 1 Corinthians 9:27 (NLT), the apostle Paul says, “I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.”

Paul is telling us to not let our flesh do everything it wants to do. Your flesh wants to watch TV until late, eat everything it wants, say whatever it wants, spend whatever it wants—and never read the Word.

These are things under our control, not God’s. When you discipline your flesh, it helps bring balance to your life. When we give the flesh an inch, it’ll take a mile. We can learn to tell it no..

Think about this: the word “disciple” means “disciplined one.”

4. Lighten your load.

Too many of us are carrying cares and worries that we have no business carrying. It throws our life out of balance. First Peter 5:7 says we’re to cast our cares on the Lord, because He cares for us.

Cast your cares on God and let Him take care of those things. Living life in your own strength is too hard—give it up. Mark 4:19 says worrying about the cares of this world will choke the Word out of your life. So stop it! {eoa}

Karen Jensen Salisbury has been in ministry over 30 years. Formerly a lead pastor, then an instructor at Rhema Bible College, she is currently an itinerant minister and author of several books. Connect with her on her website, , on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

This article originally appeared at .

It seems children’s entertainment is becoming darker. Movies and video games seem to be pushing children to embrace adult situations. And it’s all in the name of being resourceful—of not needing adults (especially parents) to help them solve their problems.

On the other hand, maybe kids today don’t really have a choice. After all, we’ve done a poor job of protecting them. Molestation and child trafficking abound. Laws supposedly meant to protect children have the opposite effect. For example, in the name of progress, California revised its sex education guidance for public school teachers, giving kindergarten children the burden of determining if they’re identifying as the correct gender. Yes, in kindergarten!

The news this week makes the California policy look tame by comparison. A Dallas jury ruled a mother is free to transition her 7-year-old son into a girl via hormone treatments. The mother confirmed she is acting on her son’s desires and choice.

Yet, at the same time, even though the boy’s first choice for his new name was Starfire (a cartoon character), his mother encouraged him to choose a different name. Did you catch that? He’s supposedly capable of choosing his gender, but not capable of choosing his name.

Is it any wonder childhood depression and suicide rates are increasing at an alarming rate?

Or that children are being told they shouldn’t be required to have parental involvement in their abortion decisions?

Children and teenagers are dressing like adults, behaving like adults and sinning at adult levels. Alcohol and substance abuse, as well as promiscuity, are as much in the domain of children as their parents.

Culture’s ruling philosophy is to cast off all restraint. The Bible is no longer our plumb line. Standards of right and wrong spring from preferences rather than biblical convictions. Everything else flows from this corrupt foundation.

And so our culture is hastening children out of childhood in the name of freedom from biblical morality. The result is that we are rushing children into a distorted adulthood.

Oh, that we would return to the Father who created us. To His Son, Jesus, who died for us. And to the Holy Spirit who brings conviction and comfort.

Could it be the enemy of our souls is determined to damage our children so we lose the example of faith Jesus told us to follow? “Unless you are converted and become like little children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3b).

If this breaks our hearts, how it must grieve the heart of the one who longs for us to choose the redemption and reconciliation He offers. The one who longs for us to come … as little children.

What are your thought? {eoa}

Ava Pennington is a writer, speaker and Bible teacher. She writes for nationally circulated magazines and is published in 32 anthologies, including 25 “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. She also authored Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, endorsed by Kay Arthur. Learn more at .

This article originally appeared at .

Why do we fail on our weight-loss journeys? Is it because we don’t have the right diet plan? Is it because we don’t know how to exercise? Is it because we don’t get enough sleep, don’t drink enough water, drink too much soda, eat too much junk food, get too many sweets, are constantly stressed, overworked and worried? Yes, but those are not the core issues of why we fail.

We fail because we know what to do but we don’t do it. Why don’t we do it? We give into temptation because of four core issues. They are spelled out using the word FAIL. Fear, Anger, Insecurity and Loneliness are the main reasons we fail. Dealing with these will take us a long way on our road to healthy living.

Being able to exchange these core issues for core truths is where we must begin in order to sustain a healthy lifestyle.

Fear

I’m not talking about fear like fear of snakes or mice or even heights. It’s fear of living our lives in the way we know God wants us to. It’s fear that if we step out and do that hard thing God is asking us to do that He will not be there to lead, guide and protect us.

Fear is one of the biggest reasons we run to food. It is a protector. What better way for a woman to protect herself than to make herself bigger so she does not attract men who might take advantage of her?

We use food to soothe our anguish and fears and make us forget that we have them in the first place. This only shoves our fears down into the cellar of our lives where we throw food at them to keep them quiet.

All the time, our fears are growing even larger and will raise their ugly heads again the next time they are triggered. Then, look out! There may not be enough doughnuts in the universe to placate them.

Anger

We may not call this anger. We might use words like, frustrated, overwhelmed, stressed or ready to give up. Whatever we call it, a low-boiling anger is the reason we just want to run away to an island somewhere and forget about everyday life while we eat nonstop.

When we are angry, we want something to calm us down, something to make whatever made us angry go away. We want to be comforted. One of the places we run to for comfort is food, high carbohydrate-content foods, fast foods, desserts, chips and dip, donuts, cookies or whatever is readily available.

Food numbs our negative emotions, but it also numbs our positive emotions. We become blah, unenthusiastic and done with the world. We aren’t screaming angry any more as long as we are eating everything in sight, but we aren’t dealing with our emotions either.

Insecurity

When we don’t feel secure in who we are we try to control more. It’s just human nature. When we feel insecure, we feel we are not in control. So we try to take control of something, anything in our lives.

We tell ourselves that one thing we can do is eat. No one can govern what goes in our mouths because we are adults. Finally we feel we are in control of one part of our lives. Then one day we wake up weighing 430 pounds, as I did, and realize we aren’t in control of food. God is in control of us. However, we still tell ourselves food makes us feel more secure, more in control.

Insecurity forces us to work crazy long hours, control our children, our spouses and our bank accounts to the point that we are ready to give up on life because we find we cannot it all. We need help, so we run to food again. Of course, that only exacerbates the problem.

Loneliness

Many of us are lonely even when we have people around. We feel no one really understands us. We have issues that others just don’t get, such as getting out of breath easily, not being able to walk very far, not being able to find clothes that fit us, not being able to fit into a booth at a restaurant or being afraid the seatbelt in our friend’s car won’t go around us. Every day, we face a new problem.

No one understands our issues, and we can’t tell them. That would be too embarrassing. So we don’t go places. We stay home. Then we begin to feel sorry for ourselves. It’s that old line: “Nobody likes me; everybody hates me. Guess I’ll eat some worms.” But it’s not worms that we eat, now, is it?

We want companionship. We may even be married and have children, but we just don’t feel like anyone understands us. Food has become our companion. It’s always there because we make sure we always have enough of our favorite go-to treats.

Core Issues

These core issues seem unfixable, but they are not, because God Himself meets each one of these needs. At some point in our past, most likely our childhood, someone has made us feel afraid.

It happened to me when I was sexually molested at ages 6 and 11. This gets embedded inside us, and until we go through the process of forgiving these individuals, we may not be able to trust that our perfect heavenly Father will watch over us.

One of His main roles in our lives is as our protector. He is the one who promises to shelter us beneath His wings (Ps. 91:4). He promises to fight our battles if we will simply get out of the way and turn them over to Him (Ex. 14:14).

If anger, insecurity or loneliness are our issues, the same is true. There has probably been a time when we were told anger was bad, and we needed to suppress it. The only way we knew how to meet those demands and find any comfort was to eat.

The Holy Spirit, though, is our Comforter, not food (John 14:26 KJV). His tangible presence is our stronghold of comfort in the midst of the storms of life. Embracing that one core truth was a game changer on my weight-loss journey.

Insecurity or trying to control everything was a big issue for me as well. My mother had manic depression as I was growing up. She was out of control, which, since I was the oldest child, threw everything in my world out of control. To rectify that, I wanted to be in control and always felt insecure if I wasn’t.

As an adult, I worried about everything, such as Do we have enough money, enough food, enough clothes? Am I working hard enough? Did the kids get their homework done? Everything changed when I finally began to understand that God is the provider of everything I need. When I am putting Him first, everything will fall into place. I will be provided for (Matt. 6:25-33).

Loneliness began to be abated when I really tapped into the fact that Jesus is my companion as I walk through this life. He lived in a body and was tempted in every way just as I was (Heb. 4:15). He gets me. He understands and gives me direction, hope and peace when I simply follow Him (John 10:27).

Core Truths

The important thing to understand is that every emotional need we have been trying to get from food is met in God. He is our source. Food is simply fuel for our bodies. Food provides us with energy to walk through this earth. Nothing more.

When we get that down in our being and it becomes one of our core truth, it will be much simpler to go forward on our healthy living journeys.

Instead of fear, we trust that God is our protector. Instead of anger, we trust that the Holy Spirit is our comforter. Instead of insecurity, we trust that God the Father is our provider. Instead of loneliness, we trust that Jesus is our companion.

We don’t need another diet or exercise plan. We don’t need a way to be more accountable. We need to understand our core issues and replace them with our core truths.

A core truth is not just something we can spout off, but something we have experienced in our lives. “You will experience for yourselves the truth, and the truth will free you” (John 8:32, MSG).

What core issue do you have? What core truth do you need to experience? {eoa}

Teresa Shields Parker is the author of five books and two study guides, including her latest, Sweet Journey to Transformation: Practical Steps to Lose Weight and Live Healthy, and her No. 1 best-seller, Sweet Grace: How I Lost 250 Pounds. She is also a blogger, spiritual weight loss coach (check out her coaching group, Overcomers Academy) and speaker at .

This article originally appeared at .

Carol McLeod’s breast cancer diagnosis unleashed a storm—just as it does for the more than 250,000 other women worldwide diagnosed with this disease each year. But she made it her determined purpose to refuse to let cancer win.

The same night McLeod and her husband received the news from her doctor, “I was scheduled to teach a Bible study to 200 women in a town an hour away, and I did it. I went, and I said to my husband, ‘This will not pause my destiny. I will not stop serving the Lord, ministering to women. I’m going,” she tells host Marti Pieper on this “Hope Through Cancer: Breast Cancer Awareness” podcast on Charisma News.

The next week, McLeod says, was a blur of testing and doctor’s appointments. But the next Monday, she was scheduled to receive the protocol, the plan for treating what she says was a “very aggressive cancer.” And that day, she says, “The storm of the century hit Buffalo, New York … we had two blizzards back to back. There were over 80 inches of snow in five days. … And so the doctor called me and said, ‘We can’t see you till Thanksgiving weekend, and I thought, What? We’ve got to get this cancer out of my body? Right, but the roads were closed for two weeks. …

“There was a storm going on inside of me, and there was a storm going on outside my windows. And I felt blinded by it all. I felt trapped by it all. And the Holy Spirit said to me, ‘Carol, I want you to study every storm in the Bible. So that’s what I spent those two and a half weeks doing. I hunkered down in the Word of God and studied every storm and extracted life principles from each one.”

From the story of Noah, who experienced the first storm in Scripture, God taught McLeod to obey the Lord “one hammer hit at a time,” she says. “What Noah was asked to go through made no sense in his human heart, but he’d heard the voice of God. So during my cancer storm from Noah, I decided, I’m going to walk in a higher level of obedience than I ever have. I’m going to listen for God’s voice and obey completely.

“And you know, one of the things that I read about Noah’s storm was that he didn’t know what an ark was. He didn’t know what rain was, but he knew who God was,” McLeod continues. “And I didn’t like learning about cancer. I couldn’t believe that I had to walk through this, but I knew my God, and I knew my God was good. And I knew my Dad was a healer, and I knew that my God was protecting me. “

To learn more about Carol and her now cancer-free life and ministry, listen to this podcast!

For more about faith and cancer, check out the Charisma e-book Hope Through the Valley of Cancer, available at this link for just $.

Duck Dynasty alumni John Luke and Mary Kate Robertson welcomed their first child, son John Shepherd, this week.

The pair, who’ve been married for four years, revealed his name via social media.

“Robertson family of 3!!!” proud new mom Mary Kate wrote.

John Luke is the son of Willie and Korie Robertson.

The younger Robertsons announced their pregnancy in May.

Mary Kate chronicled her pregnancy journey and reminisced about family on her blog, The Little Duck Wife:

“I don’t think I’ve ever been more appreciative of my own mom and John Luke’s mom than I am now. They’ve been helping and encouraging and loving us so well, and then, all our grandmothers and the older women in my life, and wow I think I’ve gotten to watch some of the best mamas in the world!”

Read the rest of this article on MOVIEGUIDE®. Find out what God is doing in Hollywood!

“Every destiny will be contested. Your destiny will not come forth without facing some giants in the land, understanding what obstacles are facing you and making a plan,” says entrepreneur, author and ministry leader Linda Fields on “The Linda Fields Show” on the Charisma Podcast Network.

And that’s true, she says, because “God is on the move. God is a God who has called you to something. God doesn’t call you to coast. God doesn’t call us to settle,” she adds. “Settling is the enemy of accomplishing your destiny in God.”

The first step in accomplishing your destiny, Fields says, is identifying your biggest obstacle. “Identify the thing that just stares you in the face every time you think about accomplishing your destiny and the things that God has put before you this year.

“For some of you, it will be your very own doubt, vices in your head when you lay your head down at night, [that will] tell you things like, ‘You’ll never do it. You’re not smart enough. It’s too late.’ The lies abound, and the enemy has a reel of saved-up messages that he’ll play for you. But you know what? We don’t even need him to play them,” Fields says. “We usually play them ourselves. And so let’s just get real honest that sometimes our biggest obstacle is our own viewpoint or our own doubt.”

But other obstacles, including more of Satan’s ploys, also stand in the way of you achieving your destiny. Find out more about how to set them aside and achieve what God has in mind for you when you listen to this podcast. {eoa}

About Linda Fields: Linda Fields, MBA, is an American educator, marketplace ministry leader, entrepreneur, author and keynote speaker teaching a unique approach to personal leadership and professional success. She is an ordained evangelical Christian minister and host of “The Linda Fields Show” on the Charisma Podcast network. Find her at .

It’s important to know and remember that God is not the mountain standing in your way; Satan is. Therefore, while speaking to this mountain, and not about the mountain, you do not beg God for your answer. He completed His work at Calvary, and now it is your turn to work His work. If you will prophesy accurately to this mountain, it will move and be cast into the sea. Learn to prophesy healing with accuracy, hit the mark and cause that mountain to crumble from the inside to the outside—and watch it fall down.

This is not a correct healing confession: “Even though I have symptoms in my body, they can do no permanent damage to my body because I was healed at the cross.”

As long as we confess with our mouths that we have symptoms, by the power of these words, we will continue to have them. And if we confess that these symptoms can have no permanent damage, we constrain them from producing permanent damage but still allow them to do some level of damage. And obviously we want to rid ourselves from symptoms altogether, so it would be better to select faith statements full of authority and bring all forms of symptoms under submission to the Word of God.

In other words, do not give the symptom room to remain in your body and cause suffering. It’s better to speak out, “I take the authority given me by the atoning blood of Christ, and I declare that I am free and healed from all symptoms, sickness and disease that try to attack my body. In the mighty name of Jesus, amen.” {eoa}

Becky Dvorak is a prophetic healing evangelist and the author of DARE to Believe, Greater Than Magic and The Healing Creed. Visit her at .

This article originally appeared at .

To learn more about God’s healing grace, check out Power to Heal, a Charisma e-book available for just $.99 at this link.

It was just a tiny spot recognized by the scan—a little more than a centimeter. But as soon as it was identified, the medical community sprang into action. More scans, tests, chemotherapy, radiation. Months of treatment based on the knowledge that this one spot was small but dangerous. It had to be stopped.

On the other hand, it was just a tiny sin. Perhaps it was a small lie—a fib, really. Or a curse that slipped through your lips—just once. Maybe it was a TV program or movie you saw because, well, everyone was talking about it. No one even noticed. So what’s the big deal?

The big deal is that all too often we don’t view sin in the spiritual realm with the same sense of urgency we view cancer in the physical realm.

I wonder why?

Perhaps it’s because the spiritual repercussions are not as obvious. Or maybe it’s because we’ve bought into the lie that consequences are not real. Maybe, just maybe, it’s because we’ve decided it doesn’t matter. After all, if God is a God of love, He’ll let these things slide. Especially since they’re not big sins.

Problem is, cancer and sin have a lot in common. Both start out small. Both are progressively more difficult to address the longer they’re allowed to grow unchecked. And both will result in catastrophic consequences.

Our culture has sanitized sin. Think about it. How often do you even hear the word “sin” used today? And when we do hear it spoken, it’s often used as a compliment. “This chocolate dessert is sinfully delicious.” “That cashmere robe is sinfully soft.”

Sin Is Not a Compliment

Years ago when the movie, The Passion of the Christ was released, many criticized the graphic scenes leading up to and including the crucifixion. Even Christians complained the scenes were unnecessarily severe.

But we forget how severe and ugly sin is—even the smallest sin—in the sight of a holy, perfect God. Sin is serious business to God. Serious enough to require the torturous death experienced by Christ when He took the entire penalty of our sin on Himself.

The Stoning of Stephen

I recently taught on a passage from the book of Acts about Stephen’s stoning at the hands of the religious leaders of his day. I’ve taught this passage several times before, and always identified with Stephen, the Spirit-filled Christian who spoke truth to a crowd who did not want to hear truth.

But this occasion was different. For the first time, I saw myself in the crowd of religious leaders who thought they were experts on truth. People who refused to face their own sin.

Of course, I’ve never stoned anyone. Or as Acts 7 describes, ^“they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him” and “they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him” (Acts 7:54, 57, NIV).

No, I’m much more civil about it.

How many times have I excused and rationalized “little” (and big) sins? When have I conveniently avoided certain passages of Scripture because they struck a little too close to home? Or avoided certain people because I didn’t want to hear what they might have to say?

How many times have I been so sure I was right that I refused to even listen to another perspective? Or when have I ignored the whispers of the Holy Spirit’s prompting because I’d have to respond with a change of mind and a change of behavior, otherwise known as repentance—another old-fashioned word we don’t hear used much today.

I’m ashamed to say, all too often, I bear a closer resemblance to the prideful, self-righteous crowd than to Stephen—a man who, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was simultaneously humble and bold.

How about you? Will you join me in addressing even our “small” sins with the same focus and intentionality we use to address cancer cells in our bodies? Who knows what God might accomplish in and through us if we do! {eoa}

Ava Pennington is a writer, speaker and Bible teacher. She writes for nationally circulated magazines and is published in 32 anthologies, including 25 “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books. She also authored Daily Reflections on the Names of God: A Devotional, endorsed by Kay Arthur. Learn more at .

This article originally appeared at .

As we near the Halloween season, many questions are raised about whether one ought to celebrate it or not.

For some these questions extend even beyond Halloween, encompassing Christmas and Easter, in an effort to distance themselves from all things pagan.

If we were to distance ourselves from all things pagan, we’d barely be able to exist in this present culture at all.

To be sure, Halloween’s origins are dark, pagan and demonic. I could go into a huge history lesson here—but it really would not serve the purpose for what I want to share. I think the majority of us know Halloween’s Celtic origins, how jack-o’-lanterns came to be, why they dressed up and so on.

Additionally, I think we could all agree that the way Halloween is currently celebrated hardly at all resembles the way it was originally celebrated. It is commercialized, and I’d argue that most parents are not focused on the pagan aspects of the holiday—they simply want their children to have a good time.

When the topic comes up among Christians, the opinions are varied and deeply rooted. Some are so steadfastly convinced that all Christians should completely ignore the day, along with any kids who come calling.

Should Christians Celebrate Halloween?

The Bible does command us to reject—indeed flee from—evil, specifically demons, witches and witchcraft in all its forms.

And to a degree, Halloween falls into that category.

Yet, it begs the question that if we as believers so reject Halloween as a day, refuse to open our door to trick-or-treating kids or allow our churches to be a safe haven for those who would otherwise be on the streets, are we missing out on an opportunity to share Christ’s love?

Did Jesus literally turn away sinners in an effort to broadcast a message about sin?

Did Jesus isolate Himself from unbelievers in an effort to protect Himself from pagan customs?

And let us not forget that in His day paganism abounded—as did every other form of wicked behavior.

Turning our lights out and pretending Halloween doesn’t exist doesn’t mean it ceases to exist. Our refusal to acknowledge the day doesn’t make it go away.

People still celebrate Halloween—people who need the love of Jesus.

If our quest is to be like Him, let us look to His behavior as an example of how we ought to respond when faced with paganism, evil, and even wickedness in our culture.

The church can and should capitalize upon every opportunity presented to bring the gospel to the lost.

So I challenge my readers this year to consider how you might use Halloween to reach out to your neighbors and those you usually do not get a chance to talk with.

3 Ways Christians Can Use Halloween to Spread God’s Love

1. Hand out tracts with candy.

When kids come to your home, have a tract ready to hand out with candy. Use this as an opportunity to spread the Good News of the gospel.

2. Trunk or treat.

Find a church or organization hosting a trunk or treat and get involved with them, or organize one yourself and get your friends and church family involved!

3. Throw a neighborhood party.

Get your neighbors together and organize a huge neighborhood block party. You can do a tour of homes or, if the weather is warm, host a block party. Give children a safe place to go and begin building a bridge to your neighbors as an opportunity to share the gospel.

4. Join a church harvest party.

Join your church or a neighboring church in hosting a harvest party. This gives children and their families a safe place to go and gets them off of the streets. It also opens the door for you to spread the gospel.

Don’t just ignore Halloween; turn it into an opportunity. Be proactive! {eoa}

Rosilind Jukic, a Pacific Northwest native, is a missionary living in Croatia and married to her hero. Together, they live with their two active boys in the country, where she enjoys fruity candles and a hot cup of herbal tea on a blustery fall evening. She holds an associate degree in practical theology and is passionate about discipling and encouraging women. Her passion for writing led her to author a number of books. She is the author of “A Little R & R,” where she encourages women to find contentment in what God created them to be. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

This article originally appeared at .

For an e-book presenting the opposite opinion about Halloween, check out this Charisma e-book, Why Christians Shouldn’t Celebrate Halloween, available at this link for just $.

For more on the Christian controversy over Halloween, check out the podcasts included with this article.

Joanna Beck’s father left the family and signed over his parental rights when she was only 5 years old. Her mother had issues of her own. Despite a move to live with her grandmother, who became a charismatic Christian, and then finding salvation herself, Beck lost her path.

“I got pregnant and married when I was 18,” she tells host Dr. Barbara Lowe on “Dr. Barbara’s Whole Life Podcast” on Charisma News. After eight years and another child, “We went through a horrific divorce, where I lost everything, down to my dignity,” Beck says. “Everything was stripped. … I lost my house; I lost my car. … All I knew how to be was sad and angry and depressed, and God reached down and just pulled me right up out of that pit. And that’s what I like to tell women all the time … if you’re at rock bottom, good, because you’re going to find out who that rock is.

“And it’s Jesus, and He’s going to lift you right up out of it. And it’s going to be painful. It’s going to be hard. But the end result is going to be absolutely amazing.”

Now happily married and in ministry, with four beautiful daughters, Beck shares how God supernaturally healed her father issues. “I was standing in a class that I was taking, and we were worshipping. And all of a sudden, the Lord says to me, ‘Give it to Me, Joanna.’

“And I was like, ‘What?’

“And He said, ‘Give me the abandonment. … the abandonment from your father.’ … And I [had my] arms lifted and was just worshipping Him, ‘Take it, Lord, just take it.’ I actually felt that root of abandonment come up out of me. And it was something that I was holding onto and I didn’t even know it. But He took it from me and completely healed that abandonment issue that I had.”

For more of Joanna Beck’s inspiring story, listen to this podcast! {eoa}