 We ate it in Christ Jesus for good works that were planned far in advance of your birth. Welcome to Hope Today. It is Friday. We're so glad that you're with us. I'm Anna, and I'm here with Sydney and Matt. A few minutes. Tell us about it. Yeah, well, you know, I think we can all agree that we all love to be on the winning side of things and nothing's more frustrating than having to confront personal challenges that leave us feeling defeated. Sometimes uncovering underlying issues in our lives is the key to triumph. In today's episode, we'll have Adam Davis, our guest, who will discuss how to conquer adversity in our lives drawing from his own firsthand experiences rather than just mere opinion. So, Sydney, it's gonna be really good. What else we got going on today? Well, I'm really excited for that because it's so important us to have victory and it's only through Jesus. I'm really excited because there's an upcoming event. K-Love has a concert film that is coming next week for two nights only. You're gonna hear from Ryan Stevenson. He's a Grammy-nominated artist, and he has incredible stories. He's gonna tell us more about that. And so you'll just want to stay tuned to hear about that because it's something for the family all to enjoy to be in the presence of Jesus. Yes, there was also a quick conversation right before we went on air about the Stealer game. Victory. And knowing that they won last night, we said, Matt acted like he knew what he was trying to say. Speaking of victory and conquering, I feel like every city when their home team loses, it's like a depression comes over like the city. So we know that the spirits are lifted high here in Pittsburgh because Steelers are victorious from last night's game. So come on. I know, that's right. It's not a bad way to start a Friday morning. And yeah, I mean, when we're talking about conquering and overcoming, so many of you watching today have had some kind of trauma in your past. And it's easy to just sit in that trauma, sit in that pit to let those ashes like get deeper into all the crevices of your hair and your skin and your clothes. But that is not God's purpose for us to stay in that pit. He truly has so much more, Matt. You know, I just think about, you know, what's in your heart is eventually going to come out, right? And then over the years, how easy is it to allow things to stay in there? And then we kind of like a question, well, why am I struggling just even in my own personal life from an outward appearance? You know, Sid, what do you think? Well, just even when we're talking about this conquering, there's a scripture that is in my spirit that I just want to encourage you with. It's like, it comes from the book of Genesis, it's 18. And it has to do with like, there was a theopony where it's like, God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit appeared to Abraham and Sarah. And they're like, you're going to have a baby. And we all know this story. They're like, ah, we're a little too old for all this. But I love that there's a scripture that God literally says to Abraham after he hears Sarah laughing like, oh, I can't have no children. Is there anything too hard for the Lord? And so we just want you to have that in your spirit today. Whatever that situation is, is there anything too hard for God to fix this? Is there anything beyond measure that he can't do? And when you start to begin to take yourself out of it, when you start to begin to say, you know what, I see the circumstance, I see the situation, it might look impossible, but through God, he is the God of the impossible. And so I think to stir up our faith, that's something that's just was really on my spirit, just to share with our lovely viewers today, Matt. Yeah, so I love what you said there. Take yourself out of it and place God in it. God's in every part of our lives. So that's why I'm excited for our next guest. He's a former police officer who has fought his fair share of battles throughout his lifetime. Over the years, he has dealt with traumatic events that have resulted in deep depression, suicidal thoughts, and even threatens happiness of his marriage. It wasn't until he was at his lowest point when God stepped in and turned his life around. In Adam Davis's book, Unconquered, he reveals the biblical truths that allowed him to choose faith over fear, truth over lies, and action over defeat. Adam, welcome to Hope Today. Oh, thank y'all so much for having me. Thank you very much. Yeah, you know, one thing I wanna just dive right in here because this is gonna be, I know really eye-opening for a lot of us, but it blew me away reading a statistic that two-thirds of Americans in the American population have suffered with some type of traumatic issue or challenge in their lives. And I can only imagine the rest of the world. So why has this topic led to you writing about it? Well, I feel like, you know, I grew up in going to church. I jokingly will say, I grew up going to church for like 12 or 13 days a week, because, you know, my mother was married to a Pentecostal preacher, so we were there a lot. And I always remember it, well, I wasn't the only one, you know, and even growing up through my adulthood, sitting in those pews and lifting my hands and worshiping, listening to sermons, but I still felt defeated. Why did I feel defeated? There had to be a mindset shift, and the mindset had to go from being my mindset to being the mind of Christ. And it's hard to have that when the burdens that continue to cloud those minds or our minds and those thoughts are those from our past. And so not every traumatic experience leads to post-traumatic stress, injury, or disorder PTSD as it's widely known. And not all trauma is big T trauma. Like what my story is is childhood sexual abuse at five and again at 15 in the church. And not everybody's story is the same. It's important that we talk about it because here's the deal. We overcome the enemy by what? The blood of the lamb and the word of our testimony. And he can't touch the blood. He can't touch the blood of Jesus, but for the blood. But what he can do is try to silence your testimony and silence your story so that you live with that and deal with that in isolation and in solitude. And when he separates you from the pack, which is quite literally a strategy of predators in this world. The strategy of the enemy is seen played out in through the strategies of predators in this world. When he sees you isolated from the pack, you're easier to defeat. This is a call for men and women to come out of the shadows of their pain to take up the full armor of God and fight back against the darkness in this world with the love of Jesus Christ. Woo, you give me goosebumps here already. You know, Adam, one thing I think I really appreciate it is your honesty and your vulnerability. You know, I mean, how easy has it been for you to be as transparent, you know, about your own personal things that you've faced? Definitely not easy, man. That's the hardest book I've ever written. And I turned that offer down when it was first given to me in February, 2021. I was going through for the first time in my life trauma therapy and something called EMDR. And through, like I said, through the childhood stuff, which there's a lot of detail there. And then through the spiritual manipulation and all the mess as a 15-year-old boy with a 30-something-year-old worship leader in the church who was married, it was hard. And then I talk about not only what happened to me, but how it responded to pain, how it responded to kind of in my adult years, the decisions I made, you know, drinking the alcohol and I don't mean having a glass of wine socially. I mean, excessively. And then being unfaithful to my wife and then, you know, I'll be honest, there's days that I look back and I think I really don't deserve anything that I have, but for the goodness of my Heavenly Father, but for His mercy and His grace. When you experience His grace, you realize how amazing it is. And so it took incredible grace, incredible mercy and the power of the Holy Spirit to sit down and write this book. It's the hardest book I've written. It has not been easy, but He gives me strength every time. That's powerful. You know, I think we mentioned this a little bit earlier, but it's easy for us to kind of go through life and suppress and hold in all the emotions or the shame and the guilt and whatnot. And you know, why in your own personal experience would that be better to address earlier rather than later? Because a lot of times we think we're the only ones dealing with it. A lot of times we feel like that we're the only ones dealing with this thought of depression. We feel like, well, I listen to Christian music all the time, I pray. I shouldn't have these thoughts. I shouldn't feel this way. Number one, you have to realize we battle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers and high places and the enemy wants to constantly whisper subtle suggestions into your ear. He wants to plant those seeds into your mire. And yes, God, thank God for mental health professionals. Thank you, Jesus, for good Christian counselors and therapists and pastors who can counsel us. But let me tell you, there is nothing and there is nothing that can set you free quicker than one touch from a living God. The power of the Holy Spirit is alive and well to not only refresh you, but to completely deliver you from what the enemy's trying to destroy you with today. And if you don't allow him to address the guilt and the shame that the enemy's using right now to try to destroy you, then he's going to have his way with you. And so you just have to say, Jesus, I need your touch. And you invite him, you invite his Holy Spirit to take you over from head to toe and fill you from side to side and inside out and lead every step before you and surely mercy and grace will follow you all the days of your life, but stop allowing the enemy to have a voice in your life. Silence him, silence him by lifting your voice to the heavens and blessing the name of the living God and giving him praise and go to war against this mess and surround yourself with communities. Surround yourself with Christian counselors or therapists that are qualified to deal with the issues you're talking about and guilt and shame are some of them, maybe it's depression, maybe it's anxiety. But I feel like the longer we sit in isolation, the longer we pretend that sometimes we're in community, sometimes we're in the church and we've put on these good smiles and somebody says, how are you doing? You say, brother, I'm blessed, but deep down inside you're rotting away and you wanna pretend that everything's okay. That is the definition of pride. Definition of pride is when somebody says, are you okay? And you know in your heart of hearts that you're not okay. That is why we need to get back to a place where we have open altars and churches. We need to have open altars in every church and we need to call people to a place where we grab hold of an altar and we do not let go until we feel a touch from a living God, until we experience being set free from all this junk. So guilt and shame will destroy you, but Jesus sets you free. Amen, you know. Sorry. No, you can keep on preaching, keep on going. One powerful thing that you said in your book and actually it's really backing up everything I'm hearing from you right now is surrender. You know, you said that surrender leads to freedom and healing. Why is surrender and why does it have so much power over defeat? You know, in law enforcement, we're taught, in military I'm sure it's the same way, but we're taught we never give up, we never quit. If you're in a fight and somebody's trying to kill you, you never quit. You better not give up. And if you see a brother that's in a fight, you better not let him stay there alone. Well, in our lives, we like to fight our battles in our own ways. And in the things of this world, whether you see the fights on TV, they're taught to fight to win. But the things of the kingdom of our father are not the same as this world. Jesus taught us that. And in his kingdom, surrender leads to victory. It says, Father, I can't do this, but you can. I'm gonna give this battle to you. I'm gonna give this debt to you. I'm gonna give this medical diagnosis to you. I'm gonna give this marriage to you. I'm gonna give my children to you. And I'm gonna trust you to do what I cannot do. You know what, even if I made the mess, even if I made the mess, and I know he's not obligated to, but he is a good, good father. And let me tell you something, if you're listening, if you're watching this today and you feel like I don't deserve his help, that is a lie from the pits of hell. God longs to, he longs to help you. He longs to demonstrate his goodness in your life. He longs to show you his mercy and his grace. And you will experience it only if you stop and you surrender. You open your hands, you open your heart, and you say, Jesus, you gotta literally take control. Take control because I can't do it. And when you do, that surrender leads to a beautiful place of victory. It's when we stop trying to do things in our own power, and we commit everything to him and watch what he does to that. And I'll tell you something to follow up on that real quick. I was doing a study of, I believe it's Proverbs 26. I can't remember the verse five, I believe. Commit your plans, commit to the Lord and trust and see what he'll do. I'm paraphrasing Alabama style. Commit means literally to roll over, to roll up and give that to him. Just to give it to him. Give it to him. Give it to him. What is it that you need to give to him today? What is it that you need to give to him today? So if I was gonna surrender, say a debt that I couldn't pay, so if there's a car, a tractor or whatever, I couldn't pay that, I'd surrender it to the bank and I'd take it to them. I can't pay for this. I can't pay for this. Take whatever burden you're carrying today to your heavenly father and say, I can't deal with this. I can't pay for this. And guess what he's gonna do? He's gonna give you wisdom and he's gonna give you discernment and he's gonna give you a plan. He's gonna go before you and he's gonna make straight your crooked paths in every place that pain. And let me tell you this about restoration really briefly. He's not just gonna restore you back to the place of pain, who you were before the pain. He's gonna take every decision that you made because of pain. You see the enemy doesn't wanna just hurt you in that one encounter of pain. He wants the decisions you make the way your brain functions after that to become something that's destructive to everyone and everybody that you encounter throughout the rest of your life. So trauma isn't just a one-time deal. He wants to use it to impact people everywhere. As God sends us out to share the gospel and how our lives and testimonies touch others, the enemy wants that trauma to become something that impacts others for his kingdom of darkness. And so when the father restores you to that place you were before pain, he's gonna restore those things that follow that pain as well when you surrender to him. So it's a much bigger deal. It's a much bigger deal than what we can cover in one TV episode. Adam, it's so inspiring to listen to you talk because you are a man who knows deep darkness and you're very transparent to share that you considered suicide at one point. And so I'm just thinking about that person that's out there today who's really battling those suicidal thoughts. What would you say to them? First of all, remember that those thoughts are not normal, they're not healthy. Okay. That number one, you are absolutely not alone. I know what you feel. I know exactly what you feel. And I'm not gonna preach to you. I get excited about Jesus. I can't help it, I can't help it. But I'll tell you this, I know you feel hopeless. You feel trapped, you feel helpless. You feel like you should have never been born, that everybody's better off without you, that you have nothing left to give. And I want you to hear me clearly right now. I love you. I love you. I don't know you, but I love you. The voices and those thoughts that you're hearing are alive from the pit of hell. And I rebuke them in a name above every name and that is the name of Jesus. I want you to reach out to somebody today. Right now, don't put it off. Don't you dare put it off. You need 10 seconds of courage to make this phone call. You reach out to somebody today and you tell them, I love you, but I need some help. When you sit down and you talk to somebody, don't you allow the enemy to snuff you out because he's not gonna stop with you. He wants your whole bloodline. This is a call for you to get up and fight back the right way, covered by the blood, equipped by the full armor of God. And take up, take up the armor of God. Don't you let him take you out like this. He's a liar. He's defeated and you have a purpose. And you have an impact for the kingdom of God today is your day of salvation. Don't let him steal it from you. And thank you so much for your hearts, for your passion, really ultimately, just to preach the gospel and the power of the word of God. You know, we really wanna thank you so much for your time. You know, while I encourage everybody about his book, you know, even share this episode, wherever you're watching from, whenever you're watching it. I know for a fact, this will break bondages in many people's lives. Adam, again, thank you from the bottom of our hearts for sharing your heart. Thank you. What a powerful message and just so many things are like running through my mind. And just when he said that, you know, having open altars and how it's important for us to roll up those things that are hindering us and holding us back. And today, just make an open altar in your living room before the Lord. If you are one of those that are dealing with those suicidal thoughts, I've been there. There's been times that I thought I was gonna attempt suicide in my own life. And just what he just said, seriously pick up the phone, even if you're watching right now, you text somebody, say, I'm not okay. I need you, just come over to my house. I need you to encourage me. That will save your life. And the other thing that I had to learn to do when the thoughts came, I started talking back to it. And I said, spirit of death, you can't come near me. Spirit of suicide, you need to go. And when you start to talk back to it and you say, you have no control over me. You have no hold on me. I know who I am in Christ Jesus. Watch what happens. Sometimes you have to talk back to it because it'll try to come back over and over again. Suicidal ideation is a very real thing, especially if you've dealt with trauma, whatever it's like, rape, abuse, whatever it may be. So today, that is the greatest hope that we want you to know, that we are here for you, that we love you and hold on. Your life is valuable, it is precious and it is worth fighting for. And that's why Jesus paid the ultimate price for you. Yeah, this truly is a place of no judgment, complete safety and transparency. We do have our prayer line available 247-888-665-4483. That whole idea of transparency, of surrender, of stop saying we're good when we are not good is huge in breaking free from that darkness that envelops you today. So reach out. Don't be that one that is isolated away from the pack because that is when Satan can pounce, can attack, can take you out. And so know that we are here for you every minute of every day. So we're just so grateful that you are staying tuned with us and when we come back right after this break, Kay loves a new concert film that is all about worship and surrendering the power of Jesus. We had a conversation with Ryan Stevenson. He's a Christian artist, we'll be right back. In this month of Thanksgiving, we're excited to send you the special Daily Gratitude Journal with your best gift. This easy to use journal will encourage you to bookend each day with short personal reflections that bring insight and intentionality to your busy and always changing life. How can six simple questions help you better navigate life's uncertainty? Bestselling author Tish Oxenreiter invites you to lean into the rhythms that each morning and evening offers with a twice daily thought exercise focusing on gratitude, truth, grace, and more. As you reflect on three key questions near the beginning and end of your day, you will be more poised and prepared for whatever God has for you in the hours between. Request your gratitude journal today when you give. Call 888-665-4483 or donate online at ctvn.org slash donate. Thank you for giving to Cornerstone Television. Coming to a theater near here for two days only on November 6th and 7th is a concert film by Caleb called Live at Red Rocks. The movie features performances by some of today's artists. Take a look at the snippet of the trailer. It's pretty surreal to be here. I'm very excited and thankful. I kind of played everywhere else that I've wanted to play except Red Rocks. So finally got to check out my buck list. One of the artists part of Caleb's Live at Red Rocks is gramy, Grammy nominated singer and songwriter Ryan Stevenson. Ryan, we're glad to have you with us. Hey, thank you so much for having me. It's a pleasure. So Ryan, tell us about your experience about being featured there at Live at Red Rocks in Denver. Man, it's so special. I don't like saying the words bucket list, but it really is just a very unique opportunity to even get the chance to play in a location like that. It is a prestigious iconic location. And if you know anything about my story and my history and the fact that I'm even art of the Christian music industry at all and just the way my history and journey has been to be at Red Rocks feels like nothing short of a miracle. So I'm just extremely grateful for every opportunity. It's easy to be thankful for everything, particularly amazing iconic events that you just get such a dream opportunity to be a part of. And Ryan, tell us a little bit about your story because I've heard that you were a paramedic while pursuing your career in the music industry. Yeah. Yeah, I worked as a paramedic for a number of years and then got signed to a record deal at the tail end of my paramedic career. And that kind of all happened because of a 911 call that I was on and responded to. I ended up intervening in the life of a lady who got struck by lightning. I revived her in the back of the ambulance and she and I connected months later. She ended up helping me down the road with some finances to get into a recording studio because she found out that I was just this local artist around town playing in coffee shops and open mic nights. And so she said, I wanna help you and she helped me get into a recording studio and that demo that I made ultimately put me in the scope and under the wings of this guy named Toby Mack. And that was 11 years ago now. So it's been quite a wild journey and a wild ride. What an incredible story and I just love how God, he's like do those full circle moments and just use that 911 call to launch you into where you are today. And Ryan, you have a new project out that's called Able. Can you tell us a little bit about the heart and inspiration that's behind it? Absolutely, it is just that Ephesians 320, one of my favorite verses, that verse got stamped on my heart as a young kid from my mom. My mom went through an incredible life. She lived a crazy life and but that was kind of her verse. She had a lot of ups and downs. My mom passed away about 15 years ago from bone cancer but just so much that I learned and gleaned from her wisdom, watching her navigate life and her struggles. I just feel like that's for all of us. Ephesians 320 says, now all glory to God who is able to do exceedingly and abundantly above and beyond all that we can ask or imagine. And that's not just for my mom. That's for every single one of us because we are all sons and daughters of the king. We're sons and daughters of Abba. He is a good dad. He's tender and gracious. He is concerned and overseeing the details of our lives. And so I think that's just my message from here on out is just a heartbeat of all the music that I wanna do is encouraging people and reminding people of who we are in Christ as sons and daughters of the king and to be able to just trust God with the intricate details of our lives because he is ultimately overseeing the process. No matter what it looks like or what it feels like we can trust him. Ryan, I love that so much that he is able and it's because when we know our identity in him we are able to see him do the impossible and the miraculous in our lives. And we just wanna share with our audience that Ryan Stevens and Soria was featured on Cornerstone Television Networks program recently today's Nashville with Terry Squires and you can check it out on our YouTube page. Ryan, thank you so much for all that you do for the kingdom of God. Yes ma'am, my honor, I'm grateful to talk to you guys today. Thank you so much for joining us. Wow, I love one thing that Ryan said that God is in the details. What a reminder that you and I need today. I don't know what it is that you might not be going through and I might not even be able to fully relate but one thing that we can relate on is that God is in every single detail of my life and of your life. This means that we're not alone, we don't fight this battle on our own but greater see who's with you and in you than he who's in the world, Anna. Yeah, God truly is in the details of your life and he is in the details of your past. He has always been with you and he is your rescuer. Listen, he is coming after you today, after your heart to rescue you and to make you new and to make you safe in his arms and in his presence. So we wanna encourage you to get into his presence today because Jesus is the one that can take the mess of your past and truly make you a masterpiece. Know that he loves you, he has a great plan for your life. His promises are yes and amen for you. So if the enemy wants you to give up hope, today is your day of hope. So listen to the Savior's words to your heart and have a great weekend.