Stand Up!: An Inspiring Account of How God's Message Saved My Life

By Eric D. Spencer

Ten years ago, when I was a broke, desperate, and lost recent college graduate, God directly intervened in my life and rescued me.

Stand Up! is the story of the events that fateful evening in Atlanta, how they fundamentally changed my approach to life, and more importantly, how Gods message applies to all of us as we seek more fulfilling lives. This powerful message can unlock potential in you and transform you into the person that you have always been capable of becoming and the person that God calls you to be.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Aug 15, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449760991

Eric D. Spencer

Eric Spencer is a noted financial executive, social entrepreneur, author, and speaker. He is the co-author of the Amazon.com Bestseller, Get Between The Covers: Leave A Legacy By Writing A Book. An endurance athlete and avid outdoorsman, he uses as much spare time as he can to indulge his running and hiking aspirations. He resides in Los Angeles, CA.

Book preview

Copyright © 2012 Eric D. Spencer

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

WestBow Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

WestBow Press

A Division of Thomas Nelson

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.westbowpress.com

1-[phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6098-4 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-6099-1 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2012913519

WestBow Press rev. date: 8/07/2012

Contents

Dedication

Introduction

Finding My Voice

The Personal Narrative Begins

The Light in the Darkness

Understanding the Message

Stand Up! Literal Meaning

Stand Up! Deeper Meaning

There Is Much Work to Be Done. Literal Meaning

There is much work to be done. Deeper Meaning

Change Starts Today

Notes

Dedication

For all those in the world struggling to find or to renew their faith—may your search yield the answers you seek.

Introduction

This is officially my second book. In my first one, Get Between the Covers: Leave a Legacy by Writing a Book (co-authored with Neil Shulman, MD), I encouraged readers to write a book in their lifetime. My purpose was to show how writing can positively change your life, allow you to accomplish a feat of interest and importance, perhaps help you in your professional life—writing or otherwise—and more importantly, give you the opportunity to educate and entertain millions of readers globally.

Now I share with you my greatest challenge so far: imparting a true, and in fact divine, event in my life and how it has completely changed my view about my role on earth. It took mere seconds for me to receive the message back in 2002, followed by a number of years of trying to figure out the best way to share it with you in the form of this book.

As a subdeacon at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Naples, Florida, when I was in high school, I can remember parishioners asking me if I would one day become a member of the clergy. At the time, my intention was to become a doctor, so my answer was that I planned to be a minister—just to the body rather than to the soul. Until I began writing this book, I thought that maybe I had missed the boat in terms of spreading the good news in a meaningful way.

It is my hope that through my testimony, you can recognize that no matter what circumstances exist in your life or what hurdles you must overcome, you are truly blessed. More importantly, I want to help you to shape your thinking as you look at the bigger picture beyond the scope of your own life.

EDS

April 2012

Chapter 1

Finding My Voice

I should have started writing this book at age twenty-two, but like most twenty-somethings, I did what I was best at—procrastinating horribly. Looking back, that particular night in Atlanta, Georgia, ultimately played a profound role as a defining moment in my life, though I didn’t totally comprehend it at the time. It’s amazing how one moment in one day shaped me into the person I am today. It has led me to the rewarding endeavors that now fill my days—ones that I hope also enrich the lives of others. The message God delivered to me gave me a sense of purpose that was larger than my narrow-minded ambitions.

I’ve often wondered why it took me years to sit down and write this book. Was it merely procrastination? Or was it something more that made me put this project off until tomorrow, or in this case, a string of a couple of thousand tomorrows? I think a big part of it was the magnitude of trying to convey in human terms this singular experience and the resulting transformation in me. Put another way, I needed to find my voice and the words to express the enormity of this event.

A decade ago, I would never have imagined that I would be in a position to write these words. You could have given me one hundred occupations or endeavors that I might be involved in during my post-collegiate life, but writing a book likely would not have made that list.

Not to mention that this type of book—a personal experience with a divine intervention in my life—seemed daunting. I’m not a modern-day prophet—certainly not compared to the ones from ancient times I’ve read about in the Bible. Nor am I a famous preacher with a large following like Joel Osteen or Rick Warren. Over the past ten years since that enlightening night, I’ve wondered if it was even my place to write about spiritual matters.

Would people believe that this had actually happened? I had never witnessed or experienced firsthand anything like it in my life, and I had viewed most other similar modern-day accounts with an air of skepticism. Until the writing of this book, I had discussed this experience with only a mere handful of my most trusted family and friends, mostly because I wasn’t quite sure how everyone would react.

After moving past the I-hope-this-doesn’t-sound-crazy-to-people phase, I pondered my potential readers. Would they understand, as I eventually did, my interpretations of the meanings—both the literal and also the deeper truths—contained in the message? How could I put such a transformational event into a relatable perspective? Surely there must be someone who should have been given this charge in life instead of me.

I consider myself a strong Christian and loyal churchgoer. However, I’m not a perfect person and make mistakes just