Gospel of Love:

Know that God has a plan for you!

In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

-- Proverbs 3:6

My first hint of God's true plan for me came from a bona fide prophet -- Prophet L. K. Johnson, to be precise. He is pastor of my wife's childhood church, the First House of Prayer on Chicago's South Side, and one day he pulled me aside after his church service and said, "Baby Love, you know you are going to preach, don't you?"

I laughed at that and told him I didn't think so.

"You've got it and you don't even know you have it," he said with a soft chuckle.

I've got what?

"You have a call on your life from God and he will show you the path in time," Prophet Johnson said.

I smiled politely at the elderly minister. My wife and I love and respect him, but at the time -- more than a decade ago -- I felt this prophet didn't know what he was talking about.

You see, I already had my own secret plan that I thought would serve my faith in the best way possible. I was then working on the launch of my own syndicated gospel music radio show. My goal was to reach millions of faithful listeners around the world. But I did not know that God had his own plan for me. His goal was to reach deep into my soul and draw me closer to him than I had ever been before.

My path began in the hardscrabble backwoods of the Appalachian foothills in western Pennsylvania, just outside Pittsburgh. My parents split up when I was a toddler and, though they later got back together, I had a nomadic childhood. After my father and mother separated, my mother, Dorothy, went to New Kensington, Pennsylvania, to study, train, and eventually work as a nurse's assistant. She left me to be raised, quite happily, in shifts shared mostly by two sets of loving great-grandparents, as well as my grandmothers and other extended family. By the time my parents got back together and restarted their family with my brother, my great-grandparents refused to give me up, which was just fine with me.

The majority of my childhood years were spent in the care of my mother's paternal grandparents, Susie and Walker Davis. They lived in company housing for the employees of the Pittsburgh Plate Glass Company in Creighton. I stayed with them during the school months and then for several weeks each summer, I'd go twenty miles across the Allegheny River, where my mother's grandmother Ethel and her husband Jim Rings had a turkey farm outside New Kensington in Plum Township.

My two sets of elderly caretakers instilled in me a nose-to-the-grindstone sense of purpose, focus, and self-reliance that helped me to do well as a student and even better as an athlete. They saw to it that everything I did was built upon a foundation of faith in God and a belief in his plans for my life. Good Christians are formed in many ways. One way is through a Christian education. I didn't really get a formal Christian education as a child, but I think I got a very good Christian education just by the way we lived and honored God at all times. Not that I was a Goody Two-shoes. I was a normal kid, a high school jock with my share of fights and girlfriends. But compared to most young guys, I was a clean-cut Christian boy. I didn't run with the rough crowd. My guardians would have none of that. I can remember them saying many times, "Lay down with dogs and you'll get up with fleas!"

I was a rural black child raised among the rough and tough white sons of coal miners and factory workers. There were no safe routes home, no easy ways out, and turning the other cheek was not an option in my neck of the woods. My guardians were strong in faith, in principles, and in pure grit. They taught me to stand up against bullies and racial taunters. I kept fighting until no one messed with me anymore. That has been a pattern for my life. I've never tried to be what others wanted me to be, and I've never shied away from facing life's challenges, trials, and tribulations.

God expects us to learn from experience. It is God's truth for us as human beings. We can't make it without him, as it says in 2 Corinthians 5:7: "Walk by faith, and not by sight."

After graduating from high school, I enlisted in the U.S. Army for Personnel Admin. School and after, true to my nature, I signed on for the most challenging assignment I could qualify for: paratrooper school. Walking by faith is one thing. Jumping out of a perfectly good airplane at just 10,000 feet is another! That is truly a leap of faith! I definitely put my trust in God also by beginning my military service during the Vietnam War. It was a time when many men my age were doing everything they could to avoid military duty. Yet I became a paratrooper in the famed 82nd Airborne Division. I did a tour in Southeast Asia during the Vietnam War, most of it in Thailand where we maintained a base to support operations in the region. And I survived, thanks to God's good graces.

Trusting in the Lord

In Proverbs 3:5-6, we're told: "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all our ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." I grew up under the care of men and women who always encouraged me to make my own way in the world while trusting in God's guidance. I lived among rock-solid Christians, and I never felt inclined to be anything else. Christians do need to be around other Christians so we can help keep each other strong. Yet, like most folks, I often would get so focused on pursuing career and personal goals that I'd forget that God might have his own path picked out for me.

The challenges, pressures, and distractions of everyday life sometimes force us to adopt a narrow focus. We put on blinders that block out all of the other resources available to us. But we have to fight that and work to remember that we should never trust our own ideas and views to the exclusion of all others. We must not become so self-reliant and self-determined that we become self-centered. Our egos can mess up what God has planned for us. We can't tune him out, not on his heavenly radio dial.

When I returned to the States, I was assigned to Gannon University's ROTC department as a military instructor in Erie, Pennsylvania. I carried out my day duties and then instead of partying or relaxing at night, I worked a second shift as a civilian.

With permission of my commanding officer, I moonlighted as a part-time disc jockey at a pair of local radio stations in Erie, Pennsylvania. Two of my ROTC students worked at the stations as disc jockeys and they got me interested in broadcasting. Through them, I got to know WWGO's vice president and general manager. When his jazz show host had to have surgery, he asked me to fill in, since he knew I was a jazz enthusiast. I ended up doing the jazz show whenever his regular guy was sick or on vacation. And so a broadcaster was born. But I wasn't a typical, edgy deejay. From the start, I always kept a Bible near the microphone stand. I didn't preach to anyone and I didn't wear my faith on my sleeve, but it still intimidated some. I just kept in mind the message from Proverbs 3:1-3:

I'd been taught to trust in the Lord with all of my heart, even when I didn't understand what was going on in my life. My great-grandmother instilled in me that God would always make my path straight. It all comes down to trusting his plan for your life. But before you can trust God, you have to be willing to acknowledge him in every aspect of your day-to-day existence. Being faithful isn't a day job. Nor is it a night job. It's a way of living 24/7. You have to live your belief that God is whom he says he is and that he can and will do what he says he can and is able to do. As Jesus said in Mark 5:36, "Just believe." You've got to know that you know that you know that you know. When you truly know something like the existence of God in your life it is because you've been living with it. That faith has become a part of you and you've become a part of it. When you know something for sure in that way, it is because you believe it! You've got to believe that God is God and he's God all by himself. So even though I was a full-time soldier and a part-time deejay back then, my real job was to "just believe" and to worship God in every action. When we just do that, the Holy Spirit takes care of the rest.

Let's pause here for a brief commercial on behalf of the Holy Spirit. Some don't believe in the ministry of the Holy Spirit because they never mention him or consider him. It's my contention that the spirit has been put on the back burner for too long. The entire concept of the Holy Trinity is even denied by some Christians. I believe those folks are suffering from a condition known as the "false self." They want to think of themselves in positive terms as Christians, but they've closed the doors to God in certain areas. People who claim to be "good but not religious" are known by theologians as "nominal Christians." If they read the living word of God, the Holy Spirit will make them want to change their ways. Revelation demands response. God wants us to love him. And God's wisdom is supplied to us through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit through his word. And I was well taken care of in that regard, as you will see.

On the Air

I played "beautiful music" at WWYN and Top 40 tunes at WWGO. I'd been raised by educated and well-read folks who stressed diction so I had a natural "radio voice" with no discernible accent. Many listeners had no idea of my racial or regional background. Early in my career, I was the first black person to work on the air for several stations. I enjoyed broadcasting and the unique environment in which I spent hours each evening talking "intimately" to thousands of people I'd never seen. For someone who grew up talking to God every day, it seemed like a natural thing.

After leaving the military in 1968, I moved to Houston and took my first full-time radio job with station KYOK. Two years later, I became the first black broadcaster for Houston's Top 40 powerhouse station KILT, and the first for the Lin Broadcasting chain that owned it. This too was a nomadic sort of life. I worked my way up to bigger stations with larger audiences, breaking racial barriers at some, slamming against them at others. As a disciplined military and rural boy, I encountered additional obstacles. At KILT, I was playing Top 40, which was a combination of all types of music. Throughout the industry, radio deejays and their supervisors often seemed to emulate the hedonistic lifestyles of the recording stars whose careers they promoted. In my view, most record companies encouraged that and supported it. I refused to partake, and as a result I was something of an outsider with broadcasting insiders. Yet I was popular with listeners and with station managers who knew they could rely on me to show up sober and on time with a professional approach to my work. Still, I had to beg, plead, and scrape to get into management. After stops in Houston; Detroit; Windsor, Canada; and New York, I became operations manager at famed WVON-AM and what is now WGCI-FM in Chicago. While there, I had some memorable clashes with a dictatorial station manager. He tended to issue edicts about dress codes, facial hair, and assigned parking spaces that I refused to go along with. He fired me four times but rehired me three times!

Throughout most of my early years in the broadcasting and music industry, I bought into the perception that success depended more on who youknewthan on who youwere.That was a worldly view, to be sure, but it was widely held in the broadcasting business. I played along to a degree, but I stayed true to my Christian beliefs. My operating plan was to keep improving my broadcasting skills and to promote myself so that my name was always on the lips and in the minds of the executive "players" in the big markets. The radio business is a take-no-prisoners environment. Those who want to make it big have to pursue their ambitions in a big way, otherwise they can expect no mercy from the marketplace.

Yet for all of my desire to build a successful career doing what I loved -- communicating with my listeners -- I found that I was not comfortable with the self-promotion and self-aggrandizing that seemed to be required to gain prominence in my chosen field. Early on, my faith left me feeling lost on the traditional path to broadcasting success. But fortunately, God had his own plan for me!

My faith has always been my strength. My great-grandmother, Susie Davis, taught me as a child to always acknowledge God as the Creator of the heavens and the earth. He made us in his own image. Our Creator is awesome in his power and in his love for his creations. As I progressed in my career in those early days, I realized that my discomfort with the self-promotion and cutthroat competition of radio broadcasting was due to the fact that it conflicted with my Christian values and principles. That was a good sign because God knows; that is what those guideposts are for. They keep us on course just like those annoying bumpy lane reflectors on the highway. When you stray out of your designated lane, your tires hit those raised reflectors and it gets uncomfortably bumpy until you steer back on course. That's what happened to me.

Let me share something with you that will help make a dynamic change in your life if you'll just grab it, hold on to it, and live by it. It's the scripture that my father in the ministry, Prophet L. K. Johnson, built his ministry upon. I learned about it from my wife, Sonya, who grew up in his church, the First House of Prayer at Marquette and Cottage Grove on Chicago's South Side.

The scripture that serves as a foundation for Prophet Johnson's legendary church is Proverbs 3:5-6: Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.

My grandma never quoted me that scripture. But she certainly gave me the practical application of it, beginning with the admonition to always "acknowledge God, first and foremost" in my life. If I did that, she told me, he would direct my path.

Like you, I've been through some tough times. During most of my trials and tribulations in my younger years, I had my mother, Dorothy, and her mother, my grandma Grace, to talk me through and guide me along. When I was in my thirties and my mother went home to the Lord, it left a huge void in my life and in my spirit. We had spent years apart early in my childhood, but we grew closer as the years progressed. In many ways, because she was so young and full of fun, my mother was more like a big sister to me. As we both grew older, I realized that it had taken great strength and faith for her to leave me to be raised by others. But she felt it was best for me at that stage. She was the epitome of strength, courage, and faith in God.

My mother suffered from the incessant pain of lupus for many years after I left home to embark upon my military and broadcasting careers. After my mother's death, my grandmother Grace stepped up. I can still hear her comforting, assuring words: "Well, Butch [my childhood nickname], I guess me and Granddad will be your earthly mother and father for now. It looks like he has given us the job. But don't worry, honey. God will be your mother and your father. He's always there for us to call on him."

Leaps of Faith

Little did I know of the challenges that were awaiting me. They would test my faith and even threaten my life. I didn't play it safe, by most measures. Nor did I play by anyone else's rules. I became successful by making what most would have considered very risky moves. Yet I considered them true "leaps of faith" because I made them knowing that God would always be there for me.

I left management in Chicago and returned to hosting shows at top stations in New York and Los Angeles. After I became the urban radio and music editor atRadio & Recordsnewspaper based in Los Angeles in 1982, the next year I developed a syndicated rhythm and blues show,The Countdown with Walt "Baby" Lovethat became the longest-running syndicated R&B show in radio and a six-time winner ofBillboardmagazine's award for best in that category. I wanted to build on the success ofThe Countdownby syndicating a similar show for gospel music lovers, a market that I considered to be greatly underserved. I realized that I could not do what I wanted to do while working for someone else, so I made a leap of faith. I left the giant syndication company where I had a lucrative contract and I launched my own business in 1995. This was before radio's consolidation binge, so leaving a major syndication company was a big risk because I was giving up a guaranteed income to strike out on my own. I started writing, producing, hosting, and syndicatingGospel Traxxto highlight the best in traditional and contemporary gospel music. I host and produce the show. My wife Sonya picks the music and helps set up interviews for the show. Within a short time, the show was carried on about 175 radio stations nationwide as well as fifteen countries around the world.

To createGospel Traxx,I walked away from a relatively secure -- and security is always very relative in the broadcasting business -- position in one of the largest and most powerful syndication networks. I had to break away in order to do what my heart told me that I needed to do. I created my own syndicated radio company. God blessed me in showing me that path and then guiding me down it. He opened the door to not one but two nationally and internationally syndicated radio programs that allowed me to present his music and his message to millions of listeners around the globe.

It was a dream come true. I was using my training and talents to do what I loved to do. I was reaching people in remote corners of the world. The material rewards flowed to me. And best of all I got to play music that I love. Gospel music has always inspired me, lifted me up, and encouraged me to reflect on the word of God. My wife, Sonya, gave me a great gift when she introduced me to one of her favorite gospel songs, entitled "He That Believeth," recorded by the Chicago Mass Choir. The very first time she played that song for me, the lyrics ministered to me. At that point, I had just started theGospel Traxxsyndicated show. I was playing the music and working with it every day. But when I heard "He That Believeth," its message awakened me so that I listened with not only my mind, but my heart and soul, too.

That is the gift of gospel music. It connects us to God in a special way. This particular song reminded me that I had to let go and acknowledge that God is in control of my life. Christians know that, but we sometimes forget to live it. So Sonya's song was a gift to me, just as all gospel music is a gift to those who believe in God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.

You know, of course, what came with my initial success. I can only describe it as a restlessness of spirit, an uneasy feeling. It is true that with any entrepreneurial venture, the burden of survival is always upon the entrepreneur. I was a black man who'd struck out on his own in a white man's world, so my challenges were multiplied. Still, that was not the true source of my restlessness. After all, I had not expected it to be easy. By that point, I'd even fought off kidney cancer so I'd survived serious challenges mentally and physically. Yet now, something was attacking me at an even deeper level --my spirit.

Solomon tells us that we must acknowledge God "in all your ways know him." This means staying in tune with him in every aspect of our lives. When we try to duck God's influence, we feel lost until we let him back into our lives. Only then do we feel fulfilled and back on track. When we let God back into our lives, we feel nothing can stop us! We have no limits! But when we cut him out, we feel like I was feeling -- empty and confused.

My restlessness of spirit got so bad one day while I was driving on a Los Angeles freeway that I had to pull the car off to the side. Like a modern-day Saul on the road to Damascus, I felt this flash of anguish. I threw my hands up and cried out, "Lord, what is it you want from me? Why don't I feel fulfilled? You've healed my body and spared my life. I have achieved beyond anything I could have dreamed. Why am I not at peace?"

I wish I could tell you that the clouds parted and a shimmering ray of light beamed down upon me. But this was Los Angeles, after all. There are no clouds most of the time. Still, the sun did seem to glow a little brighter and in my head, I heard a voice that said: "I want you to serve me."

As sure as I was alive, I knew it was God's voice.

Prophet Johnson was the first person I called. I told the Chicago minister that his prophecy had come true. God had called me to tell me that playing his gospel music was not enough. He wanted me to preach his Word as well. Matthew 22:14 says: "For many are invited, but few are chosen."

Prophet Johnson did not shy from basking in the moment. He reminded me once again of his saying that I was "a preacher without a pulpit." I'd always made a joke of his coaxing. I'd denied that God had a plan for me that went beyond celebrating his music through praise and worship with millions of listeners around the world. I thought that was enough. I thought it was my small contribution. But God didn't want a small contribution from me. He wanted something more.

Truth be told, I was a more than a little frightened of the preacher's role. Sure, I was a public figure who spoke to millions of listeners, but I did my broadcasting out of sight, in the security of a booth where it was just me and the sound engineers and a production assistant or two. Preachers are out there facing their flocks, standing at the pulpit exposed and vulnerable. I'd heard how people sniped at men and women called to the ministry. Their faith and dedication was always being measured and called into question. I had preferred to serve God in my own, quiet way, from the safety of my pew. I didn't want anyone questioning the depth of my faith and dedication to Jesus Christ.

God, however, had his own plan. Scripture tells us: "To whom much is given, much is required." I wasn't thinking clearly. I was doing what I wanted to do and not what God would have me do. Prophet Johnson had tapped into that. "I told you, Baby Love!" he said. "And now you finally know it and feel it."

He repeated what had been a constant refrain in our encounters: "I always told you that you've got it and you didn't know you had it. But now you do!"

It was true. I didn't know what it was that Prophet Johnson saw in me. I certainly didn't see it in myself. I had once asked him what it was that he saw.

"The anointing," he said. "You've got the anointing of God in and on your life. God has given you a gift."

I'd put him off at the time, out of fear or ignorance or just an unwillingness to reflect that deeply upon my faith. I was focused on building a career and providing security for myself and my family. I considered myself a devoted Christian and, by the standards of most people in my industry, I lived my faith. I'd loved gospel music all my life. I'd even played it on the air for my secular rhythm and blues show, breaking format and risking the wrath of my supervisors. I'd considered that to be a statement of my Christian faith and I'd dared anyone to challenge me for praising Jesus' name on the air.

I had not stopped to consider that the only reason I'd gotten away with my little acts of Christian defiance was because God had a plan for me. He had given me favor with my audience and my bosses. God's favor is always more important than man's perceived power. Prophet Johnson had tried to get that through my skull.

"You're going to play God's music and then you're going to preach his Word."

For a long time, I shrugged off Prophet Johnson's words without really listening to what he was trying to tell me. It struck me that day when I pulled off the freeway that he was not making a suggestion or merely trying to provoke my thoughts. He was delivering a message from above. God's spirit reached down and tapped me on the head that day, telling me to listen with my heart and soul. Things have not been the same since then. God made his move on me! And as a result, I've found a peace that I'd never known before. Now, I am serving him at a higher level than I'd ever dreamed possible.

Bible Study

I responded to God's call initially by telling my pastor, Reverend Cecil "Chip" Murray at the First A.M.E. Church in Los Angeles about my interest in the ministry. He helped me apply and win acceptance into a five-year ministry school at the Fifth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles. It was a very good program, but in my second year, I decided to go a step further. It had occurred to me that with all of the work I was doing to become a minister, I might as well do it for college credit. I had no idea how to accomplish that until God assigned me a seat next to a messenger. I was thirsting for a deeper understanding and I thought I could find it by attending seminary school. God will help you and guide you if you ask him to. I'm not shy about asking. After all, scripture says, "You do not have because you do not ask God" (James 4:2). I prayed for additional guidance in my training for the ministry. I got on my knees and asked God for guidance. I was digging in my Bible just reading and the Spirit lead me to Isaiah 42:16, which says:

When looking for direction we have to be alert and receptive to God's leads. God uses people to get things done and to help others even when they're not expecting it. I'd failed to recognize Prophet Johnson's message from God, but eventually it came through loud and clear.

In my prayers for guidance, I read the Old Testament's book of Isaiah and found this: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, "This is the way; walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21).

The Prophet Isaiah is considered to be the greatest of all the prophets. His were the first writings of all the prophets'. Isaiah was a spokesman for God, particularly on the topic of sinful living and God's impending judgment. The people of Isaiah's time didn't listen to him or his message urging them to return to God and away from false idols such as material possessions, wealth, or celebrity. I've learned to pay better attention as I've matured in my faith. Sometimes we make the mistake of thinking that if God wants to deliver a message to us, it must come in the form of a lightning bolt or carved as commandments on stone tablets. In my case, it started with a simple question from a gentleman who was a fellow traveler, physically and spiritually. I was reading the Bible on an airplane flight when the passenger next to me asked if I was a pastor. I told him no, but that I was feeling a call to the ministry and trying to learn more.

"Have you ever thought about going to the seminary?" he asked.

It was one of those divine life-changing moments. God had primed and prepared me for the journey, and then he put me on a flight to theological enlightenment by seating me next to Dr. Donald Hagner, who is the George Eldon Ladd Professor of New Testament in the School of Theology at the Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena. God looked down at one of his flock who was searching for a way to become a minister and put him in a seat next to a renowned expert in research, writing, and teaching the New Testament. I may be thickheaded at times, but it was hard to miss this message.

But just in case I wasn't tuning in, God turned up the volume. When I introduced myself to Dr. Hagner, he set me back in my seat with his response: "You're Walt Love from the radio show? My students are always quoting the things you say on your shows and asking me if you know what you are talking about. And I've got to say, every time they've questioned what you've said, I've told them that you were correct!"

Dr. Hagner was freaking me out! He scared me with that. I never dreamed that theological students would be running to their professors with the things I said on my show, but I'm sure glad that I passed the test! You know, doubts creep into the mind of every good Christian from time to time, but then when something like this occurs, there is just no denying the presence of God in your life and in the world. The Fuller Theological Seminary is one of the world's greatest schools for religious and spiritual study. I was a college dropout with only a few night courses to my credit. I might never have even applied to a school of Fuller's reputation, but Dr. Hagner opened the door and invited me in.

"I can put you in touch with the right people who will help you with the admissions process," he said.

In the beginning my wife thought I was taking on too much and that I should reconsider going back to school with all my career responsibilities and church duties and family duties. But she later became supportive.

As it turns out, Fuller has a program very much designed for people like me. They accepted me as a probationary student in their master's degree program. To stay in the program, I had to maintain certain academic standards. It took me four and a half years of night classes and many long, long nights of work because I stayed in the AME program too. In June 2005, I graduated with a master's degree of arts in theology. I intend to pursue my doctorate in ministry at Fuller.

I truly believe that my meeting Dr. Hagner was a divine encounter. None of us can know how, when, where, or why God will make a move on our lives by sending a messenger or working a miracle. What we do know is this: He is able to do whatever he chooses, whenever he chooses, however he chooses. Jesus was given the power to heal when he started his public ministry. He healed the sick, restored sight to the blind, got the lame to walk, and even raised Lazarus from the dead. When Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified for our sins and redeem us to his Father, he came across a blind beggar. This story always inspires me because it shows how persistence in seeking Jesus pays off. The beggar was sitting by the road when a crowd came along and he asked what was happening.

"Jesus of Nazareth is passing by," he was told.

The blind beggar seized the moment by calling out: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"

When people tried to quiet him down, he cried out all the louder.

"Son of David, have mercy on me!"

Jesus heard him and asked to talk to him. When he came near, Jesus asked him: "What do you want me to do for you?"

"Lord, I want to see," the blind man said.

Jesus responded: "Receive your sight; your faith has healed you."

Immediately he received his sight and followed Jesus, praising God. When all the people saw it, they also praised God, according to Luke 18:35-43.

Faith is a healing force. We need to remember that when we are hurting physically, psychologically, and spiritually. When we feel blinded or blindsided, we have only to ask God to help us see. And then, we have but to open our eyes to his blessings and to accept his plan for us. There are substantial benefits for those who trust in God's plan. A primary benefit is that you build upon your relationship with God Almighty. Then he starts giving you his personal protection. You belong to him!

Hold on. Hold on. That doesn't mean you are home free or trouble free for the rest of your natural existence. In fact, you'd better be ready for the devil to come knocking all the harder on your door. The dark angel will come for you just like he did for Job. And God just might let the devil beat you up a little, but he will ultimately protect you because he has work for you to do. The devil only has the latitude that God allows him. The same is true for you and me. Acknowledge God. Trust God with your life. God has delivered me from death's door, physically and spiritually, more than once. I survived because I trusted in his path for me. Just like in the song "I've Got a Testimony," when I look back over my life and I think things over, I can truly say that I've been blessed. It's not just about doing in this world, it is about being. Jesus was the epitome of being while also doing in this world. That is why we all need to be more Christlike in our daily lives. Acknowledge God and trust in the Lord with all of your heart. Praise God no matter what happens. Keep praising his name. Keep giving him glory.

Since my own days of struggling, I've adopted as my mantra this from Jeremiah 29:11-13:

Trust me. God's got a plan for your life too!

Copyright © 2007 by Walter Shaw