The Lord’s Book: His Guide Through the Winds of Life

By Sherry D. Koehn

Each of us has experienced pain in our lives. How we choose to handle it can affect our emotional, physical, and spiritual health. But there is one resource that contains all of the answers to our questions, one that can help us navigate the winds of life: the Holy Bible.

Full of wisdom and inspiration, The Lord's Book shows you how to use Scripture to get through life's storms and still be awash with joy. Author Sherry D. Koehn explains how everything we do in life must be based on Christ's teachings. She draws on her experiences with loss, divorce, drugs, and fear, revealing how she turned to specific Bible verses to find hope and healing.

Koehn explores the role of sin in our suffering and shows why we must always turn to the Lord during these times. She examines specific hardships that can affect us, reveals verses pertinent to each one, and offers practical tools for incorporating them into your daily life. Most importantly, Koehn shows how Christ can help restore you and bring peace and joy to you even within the midst of your pain.

Learn to trust in Christ and rest in his promises using the encouragement and hope in The Lord's Book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Apr 25, 2019
• ISBN: 9781512724356

Sherry D. Koehn

Sherry D. Koehn lives in Wisconsin with her husband, they have two children and a grandson. She is currently enrolled in Biblical Counseling Certification courses. She has found that her best training has come from the Lord. She desires to share how she finds joy in the Lord with others.

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Copyright © 2019 Sherry D. Koehn.

Photograph on back cover by Leta Gribble

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, NIV, Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations marked (HCSB) have been taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible, Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Holman Christian Standard Bible®, Holman CSB®, and HCSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.

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ISBN: 978-1-5127-2434-9 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2433-2 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5127-2435-6 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date: 04/11/2019

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Introduction

Chapter 1 The Winds of Life

Chapter 2 So Much Pain, So Many Stories

Chapter 3 God-Given Hope

Chapter 4 In the Beginning

Chapter 5 Causes of Our Sorrow

Chapter 6 What Suffering Looks Like

Chapter 7 One Simple Cure

Chapter 8 Depression

Chapter 9 Fear

Chapter 10 When All Is Lost

Chapter 11 No Sin Is Too Great!

Chapter 12 Life after Salvation

Chapter 13 Blessings on Wind-Filled Days

Chapter 14 No Regrets

Chapter 15 The Choice for Joy

Chapter 16 Reminder of the Number-One Choice

To everyone I have ever known and those I have yet to meet, because we all have trials and difficulties to overcome in our lives. But through the Lord Jesus Christ, we can all experience joy and peace, even in the midst of the trial.

Thank You my heavenly Father; the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ; and the Holy Spirit. Thank You, Lord, for Your grace and forgiveness, and for choosing me to be a part of Your family. Thank You for making it so that the things I have experienced in this life have not been in vain but may actually encourage and help others. Thank You for showing me who You are, how to grow closer to You, and how to love You more and more each day!

Thank you to my dear husband, Bob. I am so happy that the Lord has put us together and given me a husband who loves and wants to serve our Lord and Savior. Thank you for being an encouragement when I felt like quitting. I look forward to the remaining years we have together on this earth.

INTRODUCTION

Are you discouraged or possibly right in the middle of a situation that is difficult to handle? Do you feel as though you are all alone? Do you feel that there is no hope and you will never have happiness? Are you looking for answers as to why we suffer in our lives? Do you think you are suffering because God is causing the suffering? Are you wondering if the horrors of life will ever end? Are you wondering where, who, or what you can turn to for help, and when you should do so?

I found in my life that the Lord Jesus is the only way, the truth, and the life. Some of what I have learned over the years is jotted down in this book. I have used some of the experiences of my own life in an effort to help others find happiness amid their sorrow.

I hope that after reading this book and looking at Scripture, you will understand a few things, such as why we suffer on this earth, what the cause of the suffering in this world is, whether there is a hope to look to and what that hope is, and whether we, even as Christians, really find peace and joy while here in this sin-filled world.

Over the years the winds of life have blown at me. Sometimes they were hard winds that tossed me all over the place; sometimes they were softer winds that I didn’t even realize were tearing at and shredding my very soul. The Lord helped me to see that not only must I accept the Lord Jesus as my personal Savior but also that I must make Him Lord of my life. I must put Him first, above everything. If we do all of this, it can bring about peace and happiness while we are here on this earth.

Choosing Him as your Savior doesn’t eliminate troubles and problems, but when you choose Him, you will have His wisdom, power, and strength to get through the winds that blow in your life. Through His Word the Lord shows us His will for our lives. His Word has everything we need to succeed. He even tells us the things we must do to have a close relationship with Him and to have this joy and peace I am talking about.

It is sad to say, but many born-again Christians are not experiencing any joy or happiness in their lives. They are miserable and unhappy. They go through the motions of what they have learned to do, but they still haven’t found that peace or joy that Christ promises us.

I have found that it basically comes down to a choice—actually many choices—that we must make in life. You see, once we are saved, the Lord does not just give us what we need. We can’t just sit there and wait for Him to change us. We cannot just keep asking for Him to help or for Him to change something in us. We must make a choice to do something about it ourselves. This choice will show Him that you truly trust and believe in Him. He wants us to be proactive in our Christian life; He wants us to choose Him! Choose Him for everything! I pray this book will help some to see what I mean.

1

THE WINDS OF LIFE

Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, ‘Peace, be still!’ And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.

MARK 4:39

When you glanced at the shelf and saw this book, you may have thought, "What a strange name for a book—The Lord’s Book." This thought may have gone through your mind so quickly that you didn’t even pick the book up and look at it. There was no second look. You just continued to walk down the aisle.

After you got a little ways down the aisle, the thought kept nagging at you, what kind of title could this be—The Lord’s Book? I mean, come on, the Bible is the Lord’s book. This is not a Bible! There is no other book that can be called the Bible. No one can change or add to God’s Word. Revelation 22:18–19, a Scripture in God’s Word, says, "For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book."

You are right, this is not a Bible, nor could it ever be. It is not meant to add to God’s Word or to take away from it. What The Lord’s Book is meant to do is show others through Scripture how to get through this windy, stormy difficult life and still have joy. Through Scripture from God’s Word, the actual Lord’s book, He shows us that there is hope, happiness, peace, joy, and an abundant life just waiting around the corner for us. We can all have this no matter what our circumstance is, no matter what troubles we have had in our life, and no matter what hardships we may still encounter in our life. This book will use God’s Word to teach, guide, direct, prove and make straight our lives. We read in 2 Timothy 3:16–17 that "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. Then, in 2 Timothy 4:2–5, Paul says, Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry."

You will find in this book that everything we do in life must be based on and built upon what the Lord Jesus Christ tells us in His Word, the Lord’s book, the Bible. There is no other book that the Lord has preserved over the years like His Word. Scripture is truth and helps us. His Word is alive and well. Hebrews 4:12 says, For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Not only does Scripture guide and direct us, but so does God’s Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 2:10 we see that …God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. Then in verse 12 it says Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

In order to have an abundant life, we must have Jesus, His Holy Spirit, and the Bible. Without any of these, we have nothing. Without any of these, we will not have any hope, we will not have any happiness, and we will not have any joy in our lives.

Our lives are much like a flag hanging out in the yard on a flagpole. The wind gently blows on the flag, causing it to flutter smoothly in the wind. First it blows to the left, and then it gently switches directions and blows to the right. It blows smoothly and evenly, beautifully flowing in the breeze. It looks so pretty and peaceful. The flag makes us feel proud when it brings to memory who we are and what our country stands for.

But when the wind changes, when it blows stronger and harder, it starts whipping the flag all around. It tosses the flag to and fro, up and down, in every direction. The wind blows so strong and hard that if we were up on the pole with the flag, the flag would hit us and would sting us.

With the strong, hard winds continually blowing, the flag gets a small tear in it and it starts to shred. Day after day, the wind blows on it. Day after day, the tear grows. Soon there are many tears that are growing. The wind is shredding the flag more and more. Finally the damage is so deep into the fabric of the flag that the owner has to remove it from the flagpole. The flag ends up somewhere in the owner’s home, possibly in the basement, attic, or even a closet. Never will that flag fly on the flagpole again. It is damaged so badly that it is useless. In fact, to fly such a flag is disgraceful to our country. The flag must then be disposed of in a dignified way.

In life, many people are like a flag, floating along smoothly, thinking all is going well. But the wind blows at us throughout our lives. Sometimes it blows a very little bit. For many it blows so little that it seems like the wind is not tearing at the fabric of our life or wearing us out. But years of the wind continuously blowing a flag will still cause wear and tear on it. Just as with the flag, continuous winds of life blowing at us will cause wear and tear on us. It just takes a long time before we see that something has torn and things are not right.

As Christians we may even think that since we have accepted Christ as our personal Savior, since we have the Holy Spirit living in us, life will always go smoothly. We think that nothing bad should happen to us and life will be wonderful all the time. We may get dressed up nice and go to church, go to other Christian gatherings, and associate with fellow Christians, thinking that we are okay and truly believing that as Christians nothing bad or difficult will ever happen to us. But the sin of this world does wear on us, no matter how gradual or quick it may be. All of a sudden we notice that something is wrong. We are not happy, we find no joy in anything anymore, and ministering for Christ becomes drudgery.

Perhaps you are like me, and life seems to go along smoothly for you and you don’t really see anything wrong. But all of a sudden the winds of life pick up and start to blow harder. At some point in your life, the winds continue to increase in intensity. They become hard to stand up in, hard to walk forward in. The winds start to whip you all around. They hurt, they tear, they shred, and they damage us—I mean they damage us more than the little wear and tear was already doing.

Anything in life can blow us all around: a bad grade we received in a class, the loss of a job, a house, or, even worse, a spouse or child; a friend’s betrayal—maybe even a trusted Christian friend; physical, sexual, mental, or emotional abuse; a terminal illness; or a child who rejects God and His Word.

You see, there are so many winds in this life to blow at us; so many things that blow hard, tearing and wearing us down or out. You may have experienced something totally different than I, but no matter what your difficulty is, it has torn and shredded you to the very core. The damage is not just inner spiritual or emotional damage, but it may have caused physical effects and scarring on you.

Like the person who takes down his or her battered flag to hide it somewhere, we hide. We hide in our jobs, our homes, our children, our churches, our friends, video games, movies, television, sports—you name it, we hide in it. We hide by putting up a front—a happy smile when we go out in public or even to church. We hide because we think that this way no one will ever know we were damaged. No one will ever know that we are no longer useful. My friend, when we are damaged, we think we are useless and worthless, that there is no hope for us. So not only do we hide, but our emotions and feelings pile up as well, because even though we are hidden, we still feel betrayed, unloved, useless, unworthy, guilty, angry, crazy, and depressed.

Unlike the shredded old flag, we don’t have to be hidden, put away, or disposed of. We are not tattered, shredded, and torn so badly that we can’t be fixed. We can be repaired. We are still useful. But there is only one place for us to go to get help. Help is found in God’s Word. There is only one person who can help to repair us, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus said, Healthy people don’t need a doctor-sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners (Mark 2:17 NLT).

This book is actually going to present you with some of my life experiences and give you Scriptures that helped me through the winds of life. You will be able to examine these Scriptures and learn how they can help you. Please join me on this journey through God’s Word. I pray that when you finish reading this book, you will have picked up some practical tools you can use in your life. I also pray that you will come to understand why we suffer on this earth and that there is a hope and eventually an end to the suffering. I pray that you will be blessed with a closer relationship to my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, and that you will learn to believe in Him, learn you can trust in Him and His promises, and learn what to do while on this earth to get through the horrors many of us have experienced and will experience in the future. I pray that you will know that you have not been tattered beyond repair. That you have not become useless, and that Jesus Christ can and will change you and restore you.

This journey will cover only some of my life, not all. But it will show you how Christ helped me and restored me, and how you can find peace and joy in the middle of problems, just as I did. Many of the Scriptures used can apply to many facets of our lives, not just one situation. So please think on them and see how they can help you, even if you are experiencing something totally different than I.

On the journey we are about to take, I will start by showing you examples of many types of problems that others have experienced in life and have come to talk to me about while they were in pain. You should find out, as I did, that everything we experience in life, no matter how easy or difficult it may be, has a way of leading us to find contentment, peace, and happiness; that there is only one thing to turn to, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ. We must place our faith and trust in Him!

2

SO MUCH PAIN,

SO MANY STORIES

These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world.

JOHN 16:33

After hearing a very popular song on the radio a few times, I was moved one day to start praying it to my Lord Jesus. By doing this I was asking Him to give me His eyes when I looked at other people. I prayed He would give me His eyes, His love, and His arms to allow me to see, help, and encourage others. I prayed this quite a few times. I don’t recall how many times I prayed it before I noticed something was happening—something amazing that had never happened to me before. Sometime in 2010, people started telling me their hurts and pains. It was occurring so much and so often that there was no way I could continue to be blind to what the Lord was doing. It was obvious; He was answering my prayer.

Then, early in 2011, the Lord Jesus Christ showed me over and over again that our world is full of pain and sorrow. Everyone’s life has been affected by pain of some sort. Pain and sorrow do not pick, choose, or discriminate based on whether we are young or old, whether we are male or female, whether we are rich or poor, or even what nationality we are. Just being alive in this world makes us all eligible to experience pain, agony, and sadness. As I am writing this book, my heart is aching for every one of you. My heart aches for your hurt and for your pain. We all have pain; we are all hurt and damaged inside from the winds of life that keep blowing against us. We all have been torn and shredded whether by light winds or hard, strong winds.

Those who have the light, easy winds blowing at them can become even more damaged than those who have the strong, hard winds blowing at and battering them. Because these winds are sneaky, they cause the damage to creep right up on us.