Paid In Full: An In-depth Look at the Defining Moments of Christ's Passion Read Online Free Page A

talk to Jesus. He is the Perfect One to talk to about your struggles because He understands better than anyone else.

Chapter 4:
Divine Assistance
    I’ll never forget the time years ago that our ministry was under a great assault. For no reason we could logically explain, the financial gifts of our partners seemed to dry up and dwindle away for a number of months. After this drought had gone on for quite a while, our situation became very serious. I didn’t know how we were going to pay for our television broadcasts that covered the length and breadth of the former Soviet Union. It was time to pay the bills, and I didn’t have the money.
    As I walked through the city of Moscow on a cold winter night, I broke inside from the pressure I’d been feeling. I stopped at Red Square, leaned against a rail, and literally wept, not even caring about the people who passed by me. I felt so frustrated because I didn’t know what to do. We had drained everything we had to keep those broadcasts on the air. Millions of people watched our television programs, and those hungry souls were depending on us. God had entrusted me with taking His Word to these former Soviet nations, and I took that responsibility seriously. But because our finances had dwindled, I found myself in an extremely hard spot.
    After riding on the subway system for several hours while I tried to pull my thoughts together, I felt myself sinking deeper into a feeling of desperation. The reality was that if something didn’t happen quickly to change the situation, I would have to cancel our program, and all those millions who waited for it each week would lose the teaching of God’s Word.
    I had just come up from the subway on my way to the television meeting when I leaned against that rail in Red Square and wept before the Lord. I felt so alone, so trapped, so unable to fix my problem. There didn’t seem to be anyone I could call or turn to who could comprehend the enormity of what I was tackling in the spiritual realm that night.
    I cried out, “Lord, why has this happened? Is there a reason our supporters have temporarily stopped their support? Have we done anything that opened a door for the devil to disrupt our finances? Please tell me what I am supposed to do right now about this situation. What about the millions of people who are waiting for Your Word? Do we just disappear from television and leave them wondering what happened to us?”
    All of a sudden, it felt like a divine force entered me! Strength and courage flooded into my soul. I knew God was touching me, giving me a new supernatural boost of courage and faith to face this moment victoriously. Within minutes, my tears disappeared, my desperation vanished, and I began to celebrate the victory! Although I still didn’t have the cash in hand to cover all the television bills, I knew the battle had been won in the Spirit. As it turned out, the money didn’t come in all at once, but the valve had been turned on again and the gifts of our partners began to flow back into the ministry. I thank God for the supernatural assistance He gave me that night!
    Have you ever known a time when you felt alone in the challenge you were facing? On the night of Jesus’ betrayal, He must have felt that way. He asked His closest disciples — Peter, James, and John — to come apart and pray with Him in those last hours. But every time He came back to check on the three men, they were sleeping. As we’ve seen, Jesus was experiencing a great spiritual battle and extreme pressure that night. That’s why He wanted His closest disciples to assist Him in prayer. However, that night they were not found faithful.
    But when Jesus could find no one to stand with Him in His hour of need, God provided supernatural assistance! Luke 22:43 says, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.” This supernatural strength made up for any lack of support from His three closest disciples.
    When Luke writes that