You'll Get Through This: Hope and Help for Your Turbulent Times

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.you'll get through thisHOPE AND HELP FOR YOUR TURBULENT TIMESBy Max Lucado Thomas NelsonCopyright © 2013 Max LucadoAll rights reserved.ISBN: 978-0-8499-4847-3ContentsAcknowledgments............................................................xvCHAPTER 1 You'll Get Through This..........................................1CHAPTER 2 Down, Down, Down to Egypt........................................11CHAPTER 3 Alone but Not All Alone..........................................21CHAPTER 4 Stupid Won't Fix Stupid..........................................33CHAPTER 5 Oh, So This Is Boot Camp!........................................43CHAPTER 6 Wait While God Works.............................................57CHAPTER 7 More Bounce Back Than Bozo.......................................67CHAPTER 8 Is God Good When Life Isn't?.....................................77CHAPTER 9 A Splash of Gratitude with That Attitude, Please.................89CHAPTER 10 Now, About Those Family Scandals and Scoundrels.................99CHAPTER 11 Revenge Feels Good, but Then ...................................109CHAPTER 12 The Prince Is Your Brother......................................119CHAPTER 13 Good-bye to Good-byes...........................................129CHAPTER 14 Keep Calm and Carry On..........................................141CHAPTER 15 Evil. God. Good.................................................153Questions for Reflection...................................................161Notes......................................................................211CHAPTER 1you'll getthrough thisShe had a tremble to her, the inner tremble you could feel withjust a hand on her shoulder. I saw her in a grocery store. Hadnot seen her in some months. I asked about her kids and husband,and when I did, her eyes watered, her chin quivered, and thestory spilled out. He'd left her. After twenty years of marriage, threekids, and a dozen moves, gone. Traded her in for a younger model.She did her best to maintain her composure but couldn't. The grocerystore produce section became a sanctuary of sorts. Right therebetween the tomatoes and the heads of lettuce, she wept. We prayed.Then I said, "You'll get through this. It won't be painless. It won't bequick. But God will use this mess for good. In the meantime don't befoolish or naive. But don't despair either. With God's help you willget through this."Two days later a friend called. He'd just been fired. The dismissalwas his fault. He'd made stupid, inappropriate remarks atwork. Crude, offensive statements. His boss kicked him out. Nowhe's a fifty-seven-year-old unemployed manager in a rotten economy.He feels terrible and sounds worse. Wife angry. Kids confused. Heneeded assurance, so I gave it: "You'll get through this. It won't bepainless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. Inthe meantime don't be foolish or naive. But don't despair either. WithGod's help you will get through this."Then there is the teenager I met at the café where she works.She's fresh out of high school, hoping to get into college next month.Her life, as it turns out, hasn't been easy. When she was six yearsold, her parents divorced. When she was fifteen, they remarried, onlyto divorce again a few months ago. Recently her parents told her tochoose: live with Mom or live with Dad. She got misty-eyed as shedescribed their announcement. I didn't have a chance to tell her this,but if I see her again, you can bet your sweet September I am going tolook her square in the eyes and say, "You'll get through this. It won'tbe painless. It won't be quick. But God will use this mess for good. Inthe meantime don't be foolish or naive. But don't despair either. WithGod's help you will get through this."Audacious of me, right? How dare I say such words? Where did Iget the nerve to speak such a promise into tragedy? In a pit, actually.A deep, dark pit. So steep, the boy cou