God Will Help in Tough Times

When you go through deep waters, I will be with you. When you go through rivers of difficulty, you will not drown. (Isa. 43:2, NLT)

I listen to a lot of Christian radio and podcasts. Most messages encourage me for the moment, but some stay with me for years—like a replay of a Promise Keepers conference I heard one afternoon in the 1990s. I remember getting so emotional I had to pull my car into a parking lot to compose myself.

The speaker was telling a story about Robertson McQuilkin, who met a beautiful, vivacious young woman named Muriel while attending Columbia Bible College. After marrying in 1948, the couple raised six children and served in a variety of ministry roles, including 12 years as missionaries in Japan. In 1968, the family returned to the states when Robertson became president of Columbia.

Along with supporting Robertson’s ministry, Muriel appeared on television, hosted a radio program, and spoke at women’s conferences. Everything changed in 1981 when her growing forgetfulness was diagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease at the age of 59.

For the next nine years, Robertson tried to balance the demands of leadership with caring for Muriel. But as her condition worsened, he realized he could no longer do both. In his resignation speech, Robertson explained he promised to care for Muriel in sickness and in health, and that she had faithfully and sacrificially cared for him for decades.

Then he said: “Duty, however, can be grim and stoic. But there is more: I love Muriel. She is a delight to me—her childlike dependence and confidence in me, her warm love, occasional flashes of that wit I used to relish so, her happy spirit and tough resilience in the face of her continual distressing frustration. I don’t have to care for her. I get to! It is a high honor to care for so wonderful a person.”

After 25 years with Alzheimer’s—including eight without speaking and 10 bedridden, Muriel died in the arms of a husband who often said, “I love to care for her. She’s my precious.”

Robertson kept his vows to care for Muriel in sickness and health. But he did far more than fulfill an obligation—he cherished her and wanted  to be with her.

Even more, God is with me through every difficulty I face. He gives me strength, peace, and grace for each day. But He doesn’t faithfully stay by my side out of mere duty. He loves me deeply and infinitely. He delights in me and treasures our closeness. How can I not love Him above everyone and everything else?