Doing for God took the place of being with God. Until he learned to be still and listen.

Angel believed the lies the world told her. She felt worthless and ugly. Her life became a swirling mess of men, booze, and drugs until one day she cried out to God, “Kill me or save me. But don’t let me live like this anymore.”

Sometimes you do everything right. You live your life to serve God. And yet, things don’t go as you had planned. Peter Chin and his family moved to a new city to plant a church, but the trials smacked them in the face until they were just plain desperate. “I didn’t know who God was after that point,” Peter said. “Even after years of seminary and walking…

“I needed to cry. No, I needed to weep. Deep, abandoned sobs. What on earth have I done to deserve all this pain?”

When her world of financial security and what she thought was happiness came crashing down, Jennifer Stoll questioned her identity. She turned to the Bible and to prayer for help.

Dave Dietz was a man who attended church but really didn’t understand the love of Jesus. After reading a book about truly loving God and people, his eyes were opened and he began caring for people and restoring relationships. Other traumatic events—a job layoff and serious car accident—also changed his outlook.

It took a really difficult situation and a friend who showed genuine compassion for George to truly understand the depths of God’s grace.