Meet Juliana Crawford

Persecution is a scary word. Throughout history and unfortunately even today, we hear stories of innocent people persecuted for their race or religion. So often, God’s people were the targets of persecution, undergoing horrible forms of suffering simply for following Him.
Today, some of us may find it hard to imagine being persecuted for our beliefs, but we are no stranger to tough times. It’s in these tough times we feel “bound” by our own personal enemies.
Our enemy can attack in the form of illness or in our sin struggles with anger, pride, or materialism. We may find ourselves in a season of loneliness or isolation or hurt by the pain that comes from strained relationships with friends or family.
But we know the Lord is good. We find examples of His faithfulness in desperate times throughout Scripture, and I have been blessed to witness it in my own life. Four years ago, my dad was diagnosed with an aggressive form of throat cancer. Six long months later, we praised God the cancer was gone. But when my dad was left to relearn how to speak and eat because of the damaging treatments, he fell into an all-consuming depression that lasted another two years.
During that time I found myself doubting God’s promises and felt we had lost my dad forever to the depression. I could not see past our immediate struggle to what God might be doing through it. Today, we are blessed to have my dad back, and our family has a renewed faith in God’s promises. 
Over and over again, God proves Himself faithful to His people. We have His Word to remind us of that. When we reflect on our own lives—the ups, downs, and unexpected curves—we may never see the greater picture in our time here on earth. But we can see some amazing glimpses of the ultimate good He has planned for us.