Max Lucado Shares Encouragement: ‘Turn To Your Heavenly Father, Who Can Help You Face The Struggle’
By Movieguide® Staff
Author and church leader Max Lucado is opening up about how he has handled his ascending aortic aneurysm diagnosis.
“As far as dealing with anxiety, I really spiraled downward,” he explained. The aneurysm, a bulging and weakening in the aorta, was “pretty large” and about “two centimeters shy of needing open heart surgery.”
“I’m 67, almost 68 years old. And I’m finally coming to grips with the fact that I’m not getting younger. I’m a slow learner,” he explained. “I kept thinking, ‘I’m going to dodge all these major health issues.’ So for the first two or three days, it was really a wake-up call.”
The diagnosis came on a Monday. By Thursday, Lucado experienced a miracle: his health anxiety was gone.
“I really felt, in a supernatural way one morning … I felt it lift,” Lucado shared. “I really did it just lift. And it’s not that I was healed, because I’m not, but the fear or the anxiety was lifted. And I attribute that to the Holy Spirit. I sought prayer and I received prayer, and so I can say now honestly, I do not live in fear of that.”
Lucado said he still suffer from “severe” mood swings due to his medication, but has learned to lean on his faith in hard times. He also said his diagnosis has caused his compassion for others to increase.
“It’s been a blessing because it’s caused me to be more aware of leaning on the Holy Spirit more, and it’s also caused me to be more compassionate toward people who have battled mood swings or depression, whether slight or severe, all of their lives because I do not,” he explained. “I have been spared that particular struggle. But now I’m much more compassionate with a person who goes through that what they may be feeling.”
Lucado is sharing what he’s learned in his new book, “Help is Here: Finding Fresh Strength in the Presence and Power of the Holy Spirit.” In the book, he discusses relying on the power of the Holy Spirit and accepting your “tribulations.”
“Turn to your Heavenly Father, who can help you face the struggle, and also turn to others,” he encourages. “Don’t try to shoulder this on your own. And don’t beat yourself up.”
He continued, “I do think it’s important for us to remember this life is not intended to last forever. We all will have afflictions, and we all will get sick. And unless Christ returns, we’re all going to have a heart that stops beating at some point. And that’s not bad because the minute we close our eyes to this earth is a minute we open our eyes to the New Kingdom. And that will be the great thing; the great victory.”
Movieguide® previously reported on Lucado’s faith:
Pastor and prolific author Max Lucado says the Bible’s promises will bring hope to even the most broken-hearted among us.
“I’ve realized through the years that a promise from the Bible really touches someone’s heart,” Lucado tells Movieguide®. “I think it’s supernatural.”
While the Bible contains more than 7,000 promises for us, Lucado says one, in particular, stands out to him.
“I think if I was really to be pressed, my favorite might be Psalm 30,” Lucado says. “In verse 5, ‘Weeping may last for the night, but joy comes in the morning.’
“I like it because it’s so honest. Weeping happens–it happens for moms, it happens for a businessman, it happens. So, the Bible is always honest about the presence of sorrow, but the Bible also says, ‘The sorrow might have the day, but it won’t win the day.’ That’s the hope. And that’s the kind of promises that you find in the Bible.”
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Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.
What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.
You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.
Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.
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