THE BIBLE IN MY LIFE December 22, 2003 Issue

God has never failed

By Sandy Sandberg

I had the great privilege of being raised in a family where the Bible had a prominent place in daily life. But it was when I was an adult in the midst of a crisis that I think it's fair to say the Bible saved me.

I had made a career change, and was self-employed. I had a family of my own—a dear wife and two young boys. I thought I had made the change with the highest motives—to serve God and be a blessing to His people as a Christian Science practitioner. However, six months after making the change, we found ourselves virtually without any money left to pay our bills. We were deeply in debt. There were mouths to feed. I had a mortgage to pay. I felt as though I had given my all to God—and He had deserted us! The very core of my faith in God had been shattered.

Over a period of several days, I wrestled with an overwhelming feeling of failure. Then as I tried to decide what to do next, I thought about familiar stories of people in the Bible who were at the end of their rope.