Robert Anthony Schuller - When You Are Down to Nothing, God Is Up to Something: Discovering Divine Purpose and Provision When Life Hurts

Copyright 2011 by Robert A. Schuller

All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the authors intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at permissions@hbgusa.com. Thank you for your support of the authors rights.

Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations are from the Holy Bible, New International Version. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society.

Scriptures noted NKJV are taken from the NEW KING JAMES VERSION. Copyright 1979, 1980, 1982, Publishers Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Scriptures noted The Message are taken from The Message. Copyright 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002. Used by permission of NavPress Publishing Group.

Scriptures noted NLT are from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

FaithWords

Hachette Book Group

237 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10017

www.hachettebookgroup.com

www.twitter.com/faithwords

First e-book edition: March 2012

FaithWords is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The FaithWords name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

The Hachette Speakers Bureau provides a wide range of authors for speaking events. To find out more, go to www.hachettespeakersbureau.com or call (866) 376-6591.

ISBN 978-1-455-50655-2

Leaning into God When Life Is Pushing You Away

Walking in Your Own Shoes

Available from FaithWords wherever books are sold.

Of the dozen or so books I have written, this one was the most challenging. Not the writing of it, but the livingliving and retelling the story on which the book is based. As does anyone who goes through a difficult transition period in life, I stood up on the other side and realized I survived because I didnt journey alone. I am grateful to those who have been friends, counselors, and supporters in recent days:

Father, Son, and Holy Spirit were true to their Word: keeping their promises, shining light on my path, and keeping me from harm.

My new vocational family at ComStar Media (especially my son-in-law, Chris Wyatt) is helping to shape my vision of the future with skill while helping me see new ways to build on the past.

On a logistical level, telling a challenging story was made possible by my cowriter William Kruidenier, Joey Paul and his team at FaithWords, and my literary agent Sealy Yates.

Finally, it is the loves of my lifemy wife, Donna, and my four wonderful children, their spouses, and my new grandbaby, Havenwho always make life worth fighting for and make every outcome a victory.

S aint John of the Cross (Juan de Yepes lvarez) was a sixteenth-century Spanish friara member of the Roman Catholic Carmelite order. Today he is perhaps best remembered for his classic work Dark Night of the Soul (La noche oscura del alma), a poem that describes the trials and suffering the soul goes through in this life. Because of his work as a reformer, John was arrested by his superiors, imprisoned, and tortured before he escaped nine months later. Dying before he reached the age of fifty, his writings have been a comfort to many who have endured their own dark night of the soul.

While I in no way compare myself to Saint John of the Cross in spirituality, in insights, in suffering, or in contribution to Christendom, the title of his classic poem serves me well as I introduce this bookas do the circumstances under which he wrote. John used his own strained relationship with his superiors to write of the journey of the soul through the difficult darkness of trouble in this lifeas do I. My dark night of the soul can in no way be compared to his except in this way: Trouble is lifes wisest teacher; suffering is the schoolmaster that leads us to humble submission; trials are the tutor that explains the difference between life as we would like it and life as we are given itand how the latter is the gateway to a deeper knowledge of God. In short, trouble teaches us that God is always up to something in our life.

My own dark night began in July 2008 when my superiorsspecifically, my parents and other extended family members involved in leading the family business, decided I was not the right person to continue in the positions they had asked me to fill two and a half years earlier: Senior Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral church and pastoral host of the international Hour of Power television broadcast. My sun set, and the dark night began, in July and lasted through October of 2008. It was like an eclipsesomething that occurs in a matter of minutes with little or no warning. And the four months of darkness that followed were like a school in which I discovered that when we are down to nothing, God is always up to something.

This book is not about me and what I experienced. Its about God and what He does when we are in the dark corners of life. What happened to me is what has happened to millions of other people: the loss of a job, the death of a dream, the confusion about what to do next, the questioning of ones value, the questioning of God, and all the rest. I wont insult you by saying, If youve been through something similar because I know you have. We are born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward the book of Job tells us (5:7). If you have a pulse, youve seen trouble. And if youre reading these words, youve apparently lived to tell about it.

Or perhaps youre in trouble right now. You may feel you are down to nothing in one or more areas of life. Maybe you have lost a job or a marriage or an important relationship. Or maybe youve lost the faith and hope and confidence you need to pick yourself up and continue the journey. In truth, it doesnt matter so much why you feel you are down to nothingthe reasons are as innumerable as the people who name them. What matters is that you know what I learned in my own time of trouble: God is always up to something good in your life.

Yes, trouble can make us think were down to nothing. But when we get to that lowly place we find what the point of trouble is: our ongoing growth in grace leading to a place of deeper maturity.

Ive done lots of hiking in the California mountains, and this image comes to mind when I think of what Ive been throughand what you may be going through: Its as if were standing on a mountain peak. The view is great, the weather is fine, and we cant imagine wanting or needing to be anywhere else. But then God speaks to us out of the clouds (a true biblical image!) and says, I know you are content on this mountain, but if you will cast your eyes over that way youll see a peak that is slightly higher; a peak where I know youll be wiser and happier and more mature than where you are. Taking Gods word for it, you say, Fineput me over on that peak. If you say thats better, Im willing to be moved.