Finding Hope E-Book

James W. Goll

• Herausgeber: BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC
• Kategorie: Ratgeber
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 187

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2015

Beschreibung

How do you cope, let alone rebuild your life after a series of trials, stressful difficulties, and traumatic experiences? Is there life after tragedy, and how do you move forward into a meaningful life filled with purpose and identity? Noted author, James W. Goll, takes us on his personal journey of facing three bouts with cancer, the death of his beloved spouse, becoming a single parent, overwhelming debt, intense sorrow, being left with many profound questions—all while being exposed to public scrutiny as he carried on a global ministry. James shares his story and unpacks wisdom gained when the bottom fell out of his world. In Finding Hope, learn how you can: - Catch the little foxes that lead to downward spirals - Navigate through the stages of forced change - Maintain your faith that God is good no matter what comes - Tell your heart to sing again - Never, never, never give up - Become a hope ambassador, and much more Deeply personal and intensely practical, Finding Hope will give you useful tools whether for yourself or someone you love. You can rediscover life after tragedy!

Leseprobe

ENDORSEMENTS

“We’re so grateful James took the time to pen this portion of his life’s story, one filled with lessons learned from the trenches. May many be strengthened and encouraged so they too may be ambassadors of hope.”

John and Lisa Bevere| messengerinternational.com

“Our friend James Goll has faced many challenges in recent years. We have watched him not only find hope but grow in faith, hope, and love in his arduous journey. May the lessons he has learned grip your heart and inspire you, so that you too can become a hero of hope in our generation.”

Michael W. & Debbie Smith| michaelwsmith.com

“Finding Hope is raw and real life. It is a true life story of love and loss and regaining hope through it all. Navigating through such suffering and being willing to share with others is a great gift and James has done an excellent job. Thank you James for your transparency and for writing this book that will surely give great hope to others.

Bill & Beni Johnson| bjm.org and benij.org

“The life of our friend James Goll is a testimony of God’s endless hope. With decades of experience in bringing hope to churches and individuals, James writes from a rich treasury of insight. Finding Hope is your opportunity to taste and see how good God’s plan is for your life. Read it for the riches it contains, and let hope live again inside of your heart!”

Brian & Candice Simmons| thepassiontranslation.com

“Hard times will come to everyone, but few make it through tragedies with strength still in their step. Through real-life tales of resilience and key biblical insights, James Goll lights a beacon of hope that shines brightly with the testimony of Jesus Christ. Read and be encouraged—and just watch as that encouragement spreads to others!”

Dr. Ché & Sue Ahn| cheahn.org

“Do you need perspective on the trials of life and tools to help you to keep moving forward? I know this man and his life. The wisdom contained in this book will give you hope and will be a source of Good News to you.”

Cindy Jacobs| generals.org

“In Finding Hope you will journey with James Goll as he surgically, with his words, opens his own heart to share with you the treasures of life he has gained. This is an essential legacy gift from a true father of the faith.”

Mickey Robinson| mickeyrobinson.com

“In Finding Hope, James intentionally pushes past the boundaries of safe subjects and pat answers and reminds us that hope is both a disposition and a helmet. This book may be coming into your hands at the very moment you need to secure your helmet. You can trust James. I do.”

Lance Wallnau| www.7mu.com

“Life can have many twists and turns. It’s not how you start the race but how you finish. As you read this book, listen with your heart so you too can emerge from any fiery trials better than when you went in.”

Harry R. Jackson Jr.| thehopeconnection.org

“In Finding Hope, James identifies heroes in his own walk through tremendous tragedy. However, I found myself thinking, James Goll is my hero. This book will provide you with the necessary guardrails for finding and staying connected to the goodness of God and a lifeline of hope.”

Johnny and Elizabeth Enlow| johnnyandelizabeth.com

“I love James Goll. His life and courage are my best example of hope lived out. No one has the rich writing, communication skills, and understanding like James. This book must be read!”

Bob Hartley| bobhartley.org

“Finding Hope shines a light through the darkness for those struggling through situations of loss, pain, confusion, and illness. James combines practical wisdom with his own moments of revelation as he passed through the valley of the shadow of death to produce the reality of overcoming faith. If you apply the lessons James learned, I believe you too will be numbered among those that overcame by the blood of the lamb and the word of their testimony.”

Joan Hunter| joanhunter.org

BroadStreet Publishing Group, LLC

Racine, Wisconsin, USA

www.broadstreetpublishing.com

FINDING HOPERediscovering Life After Tragedy

Copyright © 2015 James W. Goll

ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5099-9 (hardcover)ISBN-13: 978-1-4245-5100-2 (e-book)

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form, except for brief quotations in printed reviews, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Scriptures marked KJV are taken from the King James Version of the Bible. Scriptures marked NASB taken from the New American Standard Bible, copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NET taken from the New English Translation. NET Bible® copyright ©1996–2006 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. (http://netbible.com). All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NIV taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. Scriptures marked NKJV taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scriptures marked NLT taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Art direction by Tyler Goll (www.tylergoll.com)

Cover design by Chris Garborg (www.garborgdesignworks.com)

Interior by Katherine Lloyd (www.TheDESKonline.com)

Printed in China

8/15–1

DEDICATION

As you read this raw and transparent book, you will eventually come to the chapter entitled “Never, Never, Never Give Up!” For those of you who know my life, history, and stories, you already know what I am referring to. I will not spoil the story line of the roller-coaster ride contained in this book and the amazing statement concerning never quitting. But you will understand in due time.

With this backdrop, for what I think is my one last time of doing so, with all that is within me—I dedicate this book to my late wife, Michal Ann Goll, and to the ministry she founded, Compassion Acts, that we carry on in her honor to the nations to this day. She has been worshipping unabated in heaven now already for several years. You gave me hope. You never lost your smile. I am forever a better man because God sent this all-American girl into my life.

We will meet again at the waterside.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Years ago I was taught to pray for three things on a regular basis: to ask God for the release of the fullness of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in order to have character to carry the gifts he gives; to pray for the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit to release something that lasts beyond simply man’s efforts; to pray for the wisdom ways of God in every facet of church and kingdom life.

Perhaps this book you hold in your hands goes more into this third category of prayer for the wisdom ways of God in every facet of life. I never dreamed I’d walk through the valley of the shadow of death. For me, Psalm 23 is a psalm for the living. The book of Psalms has been my guiding light for many years…and the book of Proverbs…and the book of John…and the book of…well, I’m sure you get the picture.

So I want to give credit to where credit is due—to all the writers of the sixty-six very diverse books of the Holy Bible. In doing so, I wish to honor God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—the Three in One.

The Bible has been my mainstay. And the ultimate Author of this unique Holy Book is the one who gives me life, hope, and resiliency to keep on bouncing back. Thank you, God, for the Bible.

CONTENTS

Foreword by Brian “Head” Welch

Introduction : Has Tragedy Ever Struck Your House?

Chapter 1:   When the Bottom Falls Out

Chapter 2:   Anybody Got a Road Map?

Chapter 3:   Catching the Little Foxes

Chapter 4:   Metamorphosis: The Process of Change

Chapter 5:   The Door of Hope

Chapter 6:   Tell Your Heart to Sing Again

Chapter 7:   Let God Put a Dream in Your Heart

Chapter 8:   Never, Never, Never Give Up!

Chapter 9:   No Matter What Comes, God Is Good

Chapter 10: Hope Ambassadors

About the Author

About PrayerStorm, CompassionActs, and God Encounters Training e-school

FOREWORD BY BRIAN WELCH

When I was ten years old I had a dream to become a rock star. In 1994 my dream had come true and in 2004 I was at the top of my professional career with millions of records sold. But I was completely empty; I was only a shell walking around with absolutely nothing meaningful inside. I was hooked on every drug you could think of. I was in total despair and nothing I had in the natural—and I had a lot—could help me out of my despair.

That’s when everything changed.

A partner in real estate invited me to church where I heard about Jesus and how he’ll come into your life and resurrect everything that is dead. I invited Jesus to come into my life and hope started to shine like a radiant light inside of me. I finally knew that I’d be able to eventually get out of the mess I was in.

After just a few weeks of praying, reading my Bible, going to church, and spending time talking with other Christians, I broke free from every addiction that held me captive, thanks to Jesus. I ended up leaving Korn and became a full-on follower of Jesus. It was beautiful in the beginning, but within three years I had lost everything. I had a net worth of about $10 million and had almost $3 million in cash when I left the band and started following Jesus. But I invested into a few bad business ideas and I ended up losing all of my money.

At one point things were so low that I made up a game with my six-year-old daughter of looking for change around the house so she could buy lunch the next day at school. I didn’t know what I was going to do. I prayed and prayed and then finally one day a check came out of nowhere and landed in my mailbox at the perfect time. Financially, things started to shift for me right after that miracle check arrived. So yeah, I’ve had to find a lot of hope, even after meeting Jesus.

To me, hope is a deep inner-knowing that something good is right around the corner, even if you’re in a pit of depression and you feel like you’re lost. We all have to face things in life that are almost unbearable at times, which is why we need the foundation of hope inside of us.

That foundation of hope is knowing Jesus Christ, and Jesus is the resurrection and the life, so nothing can stay dead if we are in a relationship with him.

Nothing.

No matter how difficult or how dark—from the small setbacks, to the medium-size trials, to the horrific, horrendous trials, all the way to the day of our death—Jesus will resurrect everything and turn it around for good. This is the hope that must be anchored inside of our souls so we can get through anything that comes against us.

This hope is the truth and anything contrary is a lie.

I met James Goll in 2005. James is one of the most unique leaders I know. I just love his personality. His soul is a deep well. He is a theologian and a man of the Spirit, totally hungry after God. But on the other hand, he’s one of the funniest guys I know as well—a great combination in my opinion!

When I heard about the trials his family was going through, I prayed a lot for him and tried to sow into his life however I could. When Michal Ann, the love of his life, passed away, my heart was so with him and his kids, but I just didn’t know what to pray anymore. I was like, “God, I don’t understand this. How can a person who’s been so faithful to you encounter these trials that seem so overboard?”

To see how James and his family have come through these circumstances is mind-blowing. They’ve walked through some of the heaviest storms imaginable and their story has strengthened me even more to know that God truly does turn all things around for good.

We always need to have hope.

Always.

It must be a part of the foundation in our souls. When we feel negative circumstances weighing heavily upon us, deep down inside there’s an ocean of peace that nothing can disturb because we know that we have that hope. Christ living inside of us is that hope, so it’s impossible for hope to just disappear. Romans 8:28 is true: God will turn all things around for good for those who love him and are called to his good purpose.

It might take longer than we want, but God will always turn everything around for good if we’ll trust and wait on him.

Finding Hope may be the most important book James Goll has ever written—and he has written a lot of books! You will definitely find hope in this book, so get ready to be strengthened and encouraged in a new way, and remember one thing...

Never.

Give.

Up.

Brian “Head” Welch

www.brianheadwelch.net

Introduction

HAS TRAGEDY EVER STRUCK YOUR HOUSE?

I did not pick this subject. In fact, I would never have picked it. If it had been up to me, I would have run a hundred miles in the opposite direction. But in the providence of God I think this topic has chosen me.

Finding Hope. If any of us is ever going to go looking for hope, there must be a reason for needing it. Most of the time, that reason involves tragedy—some hardship that is almost more than we can bear. So although I hope that tragedy has not struck your house, I suspect it must have if you have lived any length of time, and that, like me, you need to find hope too.

By “tragedy” I am not referring only to car accidents or natural disasters; rather, I am thinking of just about any kind of significant loss that can cause anguish to a person. You might term your own tragic events as calamities, misfortunes, catastrophes, heartbreaks, adversities, tribulations, distresses, hardships, privations, miseries, troubles, conflicts, griefs, sorrows, sufferings, pain, or just plain old hard times. Everybody is different, and what would seem like a tragedy to one person may seem easy for someone else.

Difficulty often strikes abruptly. You lose your job. Your friend rejects you. Your spouse dies (or even your beloved pet). You send off your precious son or daughter into military service in a war zone. Your church falls apart. You are served divorce papers. The economy nosedives and takes your savings right along with it. (How did the economic downturn of 2008 affect you? It created real tragedy for some of my friends.)

Tragedies reduce you to your elemental self. You feel weak. Temptations assail you, especially the temptation to despair. Joy vanishes, and the air around you seems heavy. “Woe” becomes part of your vocabulary, and the grass looks greener just about everywhere else except where you are now standing (or where you are curled up in the fetal position). You find it hard to get back up on your feet again every time you get knocked down, let alone to keep on walking forward.

Both Sides Now

“Both Sides Now” is the name of a folk song from the ’60s, and it captures an important truth. I can now look at life from both sides, which I did not used to be able to do. I have experienced both heaven-sent highs and the bleakest lows—sometimes both of these in the same day. And, firsthand, I have learned some things about God that I did not used to know.

I have learned that it is OK to be real. Raw reality is better than any mask we could put on, especially the pat answers and the sugary smiles of religion (which ignore the fact that we may be bleeding to death inside).

I have learned to live life in the light of eternity, and I can identify with my namesake James, when he says that life is but a “vapor” (James 4:14, NKJV). That does not mean I am living some kind of pie-in-the-sky, everything’s gonna be hunky-dory-bye-and-bye existence. It just means that I get it now. I get it. I know both sides of the stormy clouds now, and I know that my faithful, hope-imparting God holds me in his strong hands day and night. I have found that he is bigger than any tragedy I can cook up in my worst nightmare. He can handle anything, and joy truly does come in the morning (Psalm 30:5). Now I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that

having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and [we can] rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. (Romans 5:1–5, NKJV)

I can look at the storm clouds from both sides now, and I can look at life from both sides of the pulpit. I have been a full-time vocational minister for over forty years. I have prayed for people; I have counseled people. I have learned many of the promises that are in the Bible, and I have tried to live up to its character values. But some things I never understood until I went through about twelve years of what could be considered trauma. My yardstick of judgment got tossed out the window. Now I understand some things about human frailty. I know what the driving force of pain can make me do, even though it does not give me a license to sin. I will never learn to enjoy having my life spiral out of control and I do not like pain any more than the next person—but now I appreciate what God can do with it.

In the pages that follow, allow me to give you a guided tour of my own triumph in the midst of tragedy. I hope to show you how to find hope for yourself. I promise to be real, because this is not going to touch your heart unless I share from mine.

Chapter One

WHEN THE BOTTOM FALLS OUT

Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but desire fulfilled is a tree of life.

—PROVERBS 13:12, NASB

I was showering after working out at the YMCA one day when I noticed a little nodule. I thought, Well, that’s weird. Never noticed that before. What’s that? I wasn’t exactly afraid, but it concerned me enough to make me go to the doctor. And that took me on a completely unexpected and unasked-for journey.

A stern oncologist did an initial bone marrow exam. The doctor’s bedside manner did nothing to soften the impact of either the test or the results. I was so unprepared for this to be serious. They did not even take me to another room. They just brought this machine in and started the test. I am sure they anesthetized me, but frankly I have no recollection of the whole thing. I do remember being scantily clothed (which makes you feel even more vulnerable) and this machine making a buzzing noise. Next thing I know, I am being told that I have something called non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma—cancer.

The Big C

I was battling the Big C. Or is it the little c? Yes, it has got to be the little c, because Christ is the Big C, and that proved to be the truth through seemingly endless rounds of treatments.

I remembered a dream I had earlier, and I realized that God had sent it to fortify me for what was about to happen. In the dream, enemies who seemed fierce and foreboding surrounded me. Then my perspective changed and I rose up so that I could look down on them. My paralyzing terror receded as I viewed these enemies, who now looked like little stick figures, from above. The voice of the Holy Spirit came to me in that dream: “And your enemies shall be like grasshoppers in your own sight,” which echoes a verse from the book of Numbers in the Bible.

OK, but I still had to fight. Round one involved twenty-five radiation treatments, and they were not pleasant. In fact, it got pretty gruesome. At first the nodule grew so fast it was the size of a cluster of grapes, and the radiation treatments burned me badly.

I prayed, of course. And people around the world were praying for me too. I think I was at the point of about treatment number eighteen when I got prayed over at a gathering and it seemed like the authentic fire of God started flowing through my bloodstream. I had come in with the skin under my clothes blistered and broken, intensely painful and burned from the radiation. By the next morning when I got into the shower, I realized that I had received a miracle. The fiery presence of God had healed my burned skin. I had baby skin where the day before I had looked like a burn victim. I did not have to put special oils on anymore.