Another miscarriage. It was the darkest season Laura Lynn Crouch had ever experienced in her life. This time it happened several weeks into her pregnancy, and she felt her faith in God slipping away.
Photograph by Audra Melton
Though she had been rooted in Christianity since childhood, fear and thoughts of abandonment seized her. Discerning her inner turmoil, Crouch’s father shared Dr. Stanley’s sermon “Is God in Everything?” She remembers being impacted the first time she heard these words: “All of us go through difficult circumstances and situations in life. But we know there is a seal of protection around us. The hand of God, ultimately, is in absolute and final control.”
The sermon had such a profound effect that it became a go-to resource as she ministered to people close to her. Just as her father passed the sermon along to her, she cherishes the clarity it has given to others in times of need—a friend whose girlfriend passed away in a car accident, a relative going through a painful divorce, a niece struggling with decisions about her future. And the list goes on.
“My friend, God is in everything,” Dr. Stanley says in the sermon, “even the things that cause pain and hurt. He is involved in every area of our life because that’s the way He accomplishes His great purpose in your life and mine—to conform us to the image of His Son” (Rom. 8:29).
Like a stream crossing the landscape, Dr. Stanley’s words continue to bring life and refreshment. “The principle that God is there with [us] changed my outlook on everything,” Crouch says. “He doesn’t waste a tear. He uses all things ‘to work together for good’” (Rom. 8:28).
