Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from Part II of the book, entitled: Putting Your Problem in Proper Perspective.

Every living human being has problems. What is yours? Are you unemployed? If you’re an impossibility thinker you probably think that a job would solve all your problems. The truth is that employed people have problems too. Most people who have jobs complain about the fact that they have to go to work on Monday morning. And countless people have jobs they don’t like They are giving five days a week to unhappiness. They work to live rather than live to work. They hate their jobs. They drag their feet getting to the office or factory. And once they’re there they devote a great deal of time to negative thoughts. They focus on the unenjoyable aspects of their jobs.

Remember: every problem has a limited life span. Every mountain has a peak Every valley has its low point. Life has its ups and downs, its peaks and its valleys. No one is up all the time, nor are they down all the time. Problems do end. They do go away. They are all resolved in time.

This principle is evident when you look carefully at history, for the history of humanity is a study in peaks and valleys. Humanity peaks at times when societies rise from decadence to a highly sophisticated state of civilization. Eventually, however, most cultures allow decay to set in. Rather than rooting out the negative influences, the human institutions adjust to the downward movement. The decline continues and accelerates until it reaches a low ebb at which point it begins the long, slow ascent once more.

History teaches us that every problem has a life span. No problem is permanent. Do you have problems? They will pass, they will not last. Your problem will not live forever, but you will! Storms always give way to the sun. Winter always thaws into springtime. Your storm will pass. Your winter will thaw. Your problem will be resolved. Every problem holds positive possibilities. There are two sides to every coin. What may be a problem to someone can be a profitable business for others. For instance, rats and mice are plagues to the human world. However, the presence of rats and mice in America alone results in tens of millions of dollars in our economy. They are responsible for thousands of jobs! Factories make mousetraps. Families are supported from the income of exterminators of such pets.

One man’s problem is another man’s opportunity.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book. When we arrived from Korea to Carol’s bedside in Sioux City, Iowa after her motorcycle accident, I was shocked. She lay in her bed in intensive care. Her body was bruised, broken and disfigured. But her spirits were whole and healthy.

On the long trip back, I had searched for my opening line. What would my first words to her be? She solved the problem by speaking first: “I know why it happened, Dad. God wants to use me to help others who have been hurt.” It was this spirit, this positive attitude, that carried her through seven months of hospitalization, intravenous feedings, and consequent collapsed veins. This positive attitude gave her the courage to fight a raging infection that threatened her limb and her life. She hung on until a new drug was released by the FDA. It was the right drug at the right time – a real miracle.

It was that same positive attitude that helped Carol make the transition from hospital, to patient, to a “handicapped” member of a family and school. It helped her feel normal and whole again. She refused to allow the inconvenience of an artificial limb to keep her from pursuing the active life she loved, including softball. The last picture we have of Carol with both legs is one taken when she was in her softball uniform. The athlete of the family, Carol loves to play softball. The summer after her accident, she shocked me by saying, “Dad, I’m going to sign up for softball again this year.”

“That’s great!” I responded, not wanting to discourage her. At that time, Carol’s artificial leg was attached just below the knee. She was plagued by a stiff knee that could barely bend at a thirty-degree angle. She walked very stiffly. Running was out of the question. However, I took her to the local school where all the parents were lining up with their girls to sign up for the team.

Afterwards, as she swung her stiff plastic leg into the car and rested her jersey, socks and cap in her lap. I turned to her and said, “Carol, how do you expect to play ball if you can’t run?” With flashing eyes, she snapped back at me, “I’ve got that all figured out, Dad! When you hit home runs you don’t have to run.” My daughter is tough. She’s a survivor. I want you to know that she hit enough home runs that season to justify her presence on the team!

Carol has learned the lesson, too. Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book.

When we arrived from Korea to Carol’s bedside in Sioux City, Iowa after her motorcycle accident, I was shocked. She lay in her bed in intensive care. Her body was bruised, broken and disfigured. But her spirits were whole and healthy.

On the long trip back, I had searched for my opening line. What would my first words to her be? She solved the problem by speaking first: “I know why it happened, Dad. God wants to use me to help others who have been hurt.” It was this spirit, this positive attitude, that carried her through seven months of hospitalization, intravenous feedings, and consequent collapsed veins. This positive attitude gave her the courage to fight a raging infection that threatened her limb and her life. She hung on until a new drug was released by the FDA. It was the right drug at the right time – a real miracle.

It was that same positive attitude that helped Carol make the transition from hospital, to patient, to a “handicapped” member of a family and school. It helped her feel normal and whole again. She refused to allow the inconvenience of an artificial limb to keep her from pursuing the active life she loved, including softball. The last picture we have of Carol with both legs is one taken when she was in her softball uniform. The athlete of the family, Carol loves to play softball. The summer after her accident, she shocked me by saying, “Dad, I’m going to sign up for softball again this year.”

“That’s great!” I responded, not wanting to discourage her. At that time, Carol’s artificial leg was attached just below the knee. She was plagued by a stiff knee that could barely bend at a thirty-degree angle. She walked very stiffly. Running was out of the question. However, I took her to the local school where all the parents were lining up with their girls to sign up for the team.

Afterwards, as she swung her stiff plastic leg into the car and rested her jersey, socks and cap in her lap. I turned to her and said, “Carol, how do you expect to play ball if you can’t run?” With flashing eyes, she snapped back at me, “I’ve got that all figured out, Dad! When you hit home runs you don’t have to run.” My daughter is tough. She’s a survivor. I want you to know that she hit enough home runs that season to justify her presence on the team!

Carol has learned the lesson, too. Tough times never last, but tough people do.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book.

I met Sundo Kim in California, although his home was Korea. My first visit to that country was right after the Korean War. Never have I seen such a bleak, barren and defeated land. Those were tough times in Korea! Among the crowd of impoverished refugees who fled from the North were throngs of Christians. One young Korean minister from that impoverished land received a scholarship to Fuller Seminary in California. We invited him to be our guest at an institute held at our church.

Imagine how impressed this young man must have been when he walked onto these church grounds with the thirteen-story tower and saw the large modern sanctuary with fountains! He heard and believed what we taught at our institute: “Believe it and you can achieve it.” So he took pictures and began to dream that someday he could build a church like that in Korea.

Four years ago, I returned to Korea. When this minister heard I was going to be there, he asked me to speak in his church. All he had was tent, but I said I’d be honored to preach for him on Saturday night. But Saturday morning, the telephone call came. My daughter, Carol, had been seriously injured in a motorcycle accident. My wife and I got on the first plane, so I wasn’t able to keep my commitment.

Just a few weeks ago, I returned to Seoul and when my young minister friend heard that I would be in Korea, he said, “Dr. Schuller, you must stop and see my church.” I promised him I would make it.

I was amazed at the difference the past four years has made in Korea. In downtown Seoul, a beautiful hotel had been constructed that was so elegant the sidewalks in front are of polished granite and the circular driveway is veneered in ceramic tile. As we drove through Seoul, I saw it! Looming in the sky was a glorious church. The young pastor greeted me and must have seen how shocked and thrilled I was. He showed me through the church, introduced me to his elders and deacons, and shared with me that he has over twelve thousand members.

It is amazing what God can do if we will give Him a little time to work His plan out! In four years’ time a band of one thousand poor Christians moved from a tent on an abandoned acre of ground in Seoul, Korea, to a four-thousand-seat cathedral. Today they are the world’s largest United Methodist Church.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book.

John Prunty was known throughout his community as “the roadrunner man,” for at the time, running had not become the popular endeavor it is today. On June 6, 1973, John took his usual twenty-one minute run, not knowing it would be his last.

Later that morning, John along with the rest of the five-member construction crew, scrambled onto the roof of a small home. It was one of those hot, oppressive days, and the work was difficult. John was atop a scaffold when his foreman called to him for a tool. In reaching for it, John stepped forward, and instantly a cinder block pulled loose and gave way under his weight.

His 160 pounds landed with full force upon his head, and as John tells it: “I still shudder when I recall the sickening, grinding sound of crunching vertebrae as they snapped under the strain. Instantly I was aware I had lost feeling in my legs.”

At the hospital the neurosurgeon who took my case brought me the unhappy confirmation that my neck was indeed broken, between the fifth and sixth cervical vertebrae. I had learned to pray as a child, so now once again I turned to God and prayed for strength to endure whatever was ahead in life’s uncertain road.

During the following weeks, it became more apparent that the major effects of John’s injury would be permanent. In that moment of truth this young husband and father knew he was a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the neck down for life!

He said, “I decided to be a survivor. In fact, three D’s became my guiding theme…desire, dedication and determination. I knew I needed to generate and sustain the desire to live, to heal, and to recognize my true potential. Then I had to dedicate myself to that concept. Determination alone would give me the victory. I resolved never to surrender!”

Today, after more than eight years in a wheelchair, John claims that life is every bit as good as ever. “I know that there is no place in my life for recrimination, bitterness or hate. I fervently believe that to hate is to destroy. I want to love and, in so doing, to demonstrate that, regardless of body impairment, the heart retains its divinely ordained function. I recognize now that the truly handicapped are those who measure beauty by the sole prerequisite of physical perfection.

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book.

In July 1980 Judy Hall, mother of two young teenage daughters found herself unemployed. Divorced and without a steady income Judy wondered how she would survive. She had no formal education and no skill she could call upon. Judy decided to take the girls back to their birthplace where they could get acquainted with their heritage and returned to the state of their birth – Hawaii.

After returning she wanted the comfort of a muumuu, the loose-fitting dress of the islands, but also a garment with enough style to be worn to non-Hawaiian events. She discovered all of these garments were sold off the rack in one size and in a similar Hawaiian print. They really didn’t fit any social occasions that were not Hawaiian in tone and spirit.

She suddenly remembered hearing the lesson taught in all the possibility-thinking literature: “The secret to success is to find a need and fill it.” She purchased some fabric in a “mainland” print and proceeded to make herself a muumuu with a decorative border at the hem. She customized the fit so it was comfortable but not so loose-fitting as to lose all sense of line.

Her landlord’s wife loved Judy’s muumuu and asked Judy to make her one. She was astounded when Judy asked to take her measurements to customize the fit. Beyond a doubt, this was a totally new concept in the manufacture and design of muumuus.

We teach in our possibility-thinking lectures: You can test an idea to see if it will be successful by asking four questions. First, is it practical and will it fill a gap in human need? Second, can it be done beautifully? Can it be done differently enough that it will stand out from all the others and fourth, can it receive the stamp of excellence and be a little better than anything else being offered?

With $100 and some much needed confidence Judy decided to start. She bought only three basic fabrics so she wouldn’t be stuck with a lot of fabric and inventory that wasn’t being sold. She subcontracted with several women who cut and sew the dresses so there would be no payroll costs.

Judy’s business grew so much that she was manufacturing 123 dresses per month out of her apartment. Eventually she had to move to a new office.

When I spoke with Judy she told me, “You’re right! Anything is possible if you have faith. And I’ll tell you something else. The biggest problem any of us ever face is our own negative thinking.”

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book.

I met Benno Fischer in 1960, in the Richard Neutra architectural office where he served the prestigious Los Angeles firm as one of the associate architects. Richard Neutra, Benno Fischer and I spent many days together, sketching the architecural dream church.

I noticed “KL” tattooed in bluish letters, one inch high, on Benno’s left hand. Beneath it were tattooed eight numbers each approximately one-quarter inch high.

“What does the KL stand for, Benno?” I asked. Surprised, he looked at me: “You mean you don’t know?” I said, “No, really. What does the KL stand for?” “Oh,” he said. It stands for koncentration larga. That’s German for concentration camp”. And then he unfolded his story!

It took place in Warsaw, Poland, in 1939. Benno Fischer and his sweetheart, Ann, were in love and were planning their marriage when the German army took the city. In the terrible confusion that followed, Benno was loaded on a truck and was taken, along with other Jews, to a concentration camp where he would be confined until 1945. “Where’s my Ann?” he wondered those first days – which eventually stretched into tormenting weeks and horrifying months.

Unknown to him, Ann, hearing of the impending disaster that was falling upon her city, had slipped through dark alleys. In disguise, she managed to slip out of Germany by successfully passing herself off as a non-Jew. She assumed Benno was dead.

But Benno was one of four thousand Jews in the concentration camp, each of whom was offered a daily cube of bread and a bowl of soup. The soup, of course, was far more satisfying. It extended the stomach and relieved the painful empty feeling that a cube of bread hardly satisfied. Trading bread for soup became, for many inmates, a major activity of the day. Benno was offered cubes of bread by more than one fellow inmate. He always agreed to the transaction.

As the time of the liberation approached, the camp’s population dwindled from four thousand to four hundred. In a desperate effort, the Nazi Gestapo tied the feet of the remaining prisoners to each other and led them off on a long, cold march through the snow of the late winter season. Emaciated and disease-ridden, many dropped from exhaustion and were left to freeze in the snow.

Then came that unforgettable morning! A rumble of heavy engines was heard from over the hill. Then on the horizon there appeared tanks, approaching quickly through the melting snow. GI’s with American flags overtook the pitiful, tragic cordon of surviving Jews. Benno Fischer was set free!

Freedom! Benno’s first act was to search for his beloved Ann. Was she dead? Was she alive? “I heard someone say he thought he saw her in Stuttgart,” he was told by another survivor.

On a long shot, he went to Stuttgart. While riding a bus through the city, he suddenly recognized a lovely young lady standing on the corner. He jumped off and whirled her around. He looked at her. She stared at him. In the depth of their eyes, they recognized the love that would not die.

“Ann?” Benno said. “Benno!” They embraced; they cried; they laughed; they loved; they survived. And they came to America! Tough times never last, but tough people do!

Dr. Robert H. Schuller is founder and senior minister of the famed Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove, California. His book, Tough Times Never Last, But Tough People Do has helped many people to hold on to hope and faith in the face of adversity during these rough economic times. Following is an excerpt from the book. Knute Rockne said it: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.” When the roads are rough, the tough rise to the occasion. They win. They survive. They come out on top! Possibility thinking works. It worked for my father, it has worked for me, and I’ve seen it work for men and women who heard me preach it. I preach it, they practiced it, and here is what happened. Mary Martin As I was working on this book, I received a beautiful letter from a person I had never met but had admired from a distance. Six times Mary Martin’s picture has appeared on the cover of Life Magazine. America loved her as Peter Pan flying across the stage on Broadway, as Nelle Forbush in “South Pacific”, and as Maria Von Trapp in the original Broadway production of the “Sound of Music.” I saw her as a person who was always positive, joyous, optimistic and happy. I never understood or knew the personal tragic paths she has walked quietly and has faced prayerfully. Then an unexpected letter from her arrived. “Three times in the past nine years your ministry has deeply changed my life,” she wrote, adding, “I’d like a chance to tell the world about it sometime.” I responded. She invited me to lunch and told me her story. I asked her if she would mind if I shared it in this book. Here it is: “The principles of possibility thinking that I heard from your television ministry helped me accept the loss of my beloved husband, Richard Halliday, nine years ago. That was a tough time, believe me!” “Then I lost my voice and was unable to sing. That was like losing my life. Then one morning a possibility-thinking message inspired an idea that led me to health again. My singing voice returned!” I could hardly believe that she had come out of the hospital only weeks before, following a car crash that had claimed one life and almost two others. Then she told me the terrible story of the accident as it happened a few months before. She, along with her dear female friend, Janet Gaynor, and her dearest male companion and manager, Ben Washer, had stepped into a cab in San Francisco. “Ben insisted, ‘Please get in first, Mary.’ I obliged. ‘You next,’ Ben said to Janet, who slipped in the middle of the back seat. Then Ben, like a gentleman, followed and closed the door behind him. Because of this seating arrangement Ben bore the immediate impact of the speeding car, driven by a drunken driver who ran a red light. The impact was horrible! Ben was killed and Janet spent month after tortured month lingering near death, finally recovering enough to return home to Palm Springs for Christmas.” “I think maybe that was one of my toughest times,” Mary said. Without losing the twinkle, she continued, “But as you say, tough times never last, but tough people do. And I’m a tough Texan, you know!” What gives some persons the power to fight on after the loss of a precious loved one, after experiencing torturing physical pain day after day? There is no substitute for deep abiding faith. If we hold on, we will win out! Unquestionably the profound faith and the beautiful providence of God produce a strong and unquenchable optimistic mental attitude. That’s the spirit that heals all diseases, redeems lives from destruction, and brings sunshine back after the rain; Tough people have it. And they can weather the worst storm. They can rough out the toughest times. They win! They come out on top.

Editor’s Note: We are reprinting a series of excerpts from the book Hours of Power written by

Throughout the Scriptures God promises that He will be merciful to us: “His mercy is on those who fear [trust] Him” (Luke 1:50). “God, who is rich in mercy, out of the great love with which he loved us…made us alive together with Christ” (Eph. 2:46). “He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy” (Titus 3:5).
The promise is there! It is for you! What wonderful news! What wonderful assurance! No matter where our road will lead, no matter what pain may hit, no matter what we do, God will be there with His mercy to forgive us, to hold us up, and carry us through the tough times. But this is only half of the Beatitude: “…for they shall obtain mercy.” The other half is, “Blessed are the merciful….”
The question is: Which comes first? Do we need to be merciful before God will be merciful to us? Or does God need to be merciful to us before we can be merciful to others? What did Jesus mean when He said, “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy”?
I believe Jesus meant God will be merciful to us, then we will be merciful to others. Mercy will then come from a variety of sources.

ACCEPT GOD’S FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is where we run face-to-face with God’s goodness. We can live with many things, but we cannot live in guilt and shame; we cannot live without experiencing God’s forgiveness.

The Bible says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Ps. 103:12) Look at the globe. Our understanding of geography tells us that if we run our finger along the equator we will keep going east, east, east. We never hit west, unless we suddenly change directions, pivot our finger and go the opposite direction. But take your finger and go from the North Pole to the South Pole. From north to south there is an equator – a definite beginning and ending place, but going east to west is like an unbroken circle; there is no beginning and no ending….

The Creator tells us that He has removed our transgressions from east to west, not from north to south. That implies that He has removed our sins forever from us. What a comfort that is. What a relief!

God has forgiven. That is a fact of life, too. The gift is extended. God stands before you with a lovely gift. It is large, beautifully wrapped. He smiles at you and says, “For you. From me with love.”

A BROKEN AND CONTRITE HEART

Oh, the power of those restorative words, "I'm sorry!" They heal relationships—between ourselves and our friends and loved ones, and between ourselves and our Lord. The Psalmist wrote, "A broken and contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise" (Ps. 51:17).

He wrote for many. Throughout the Scriptures we see them— the broken and contrite: the penitent thief; the prodigal son; David, the adulterer; Saul of Tarsus, a murderer of Christians; Mary Magdalene, the prostitute.

These scalawags—what do they all have in common? They all belong to God's Hall of Fame. In the corridors of heaven they all have positions of honor. How did they acquire such noble recognition? All of them reached a point in their personal shortcomings, sin, and shame when they cried out, "O God, be merciful to me, a sinner!"

Yes, if your life is in a mess, stress can lead to real success—for after all, real success is being admitted to the kingdom of heaven. You and I need this humble attitude, to be poor in spirit, in our spiritual lives. You and I need it in our prayer lives. . . .

"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." If you have a need, God has an answer. He specializes in matching up answers to problems, healings to hurts, and solutions to perplexing situations.

BLOCKING THE FLOW OF GOD

I love a story I once heard about Leonardo da Vinci. According to the legend, some lads were visiting the famous artist. One of them knocked over a stack of canvases. This upset the artist be¬cause he was working very quietly and sensitively. He became angry, threw his brush, and hurled some harsh words to the hap¬less little fellow, who ran crying from the studio.

The artist was now alone again, and he tried to continue his work. He was trying to paint the face of Jesus, but he couldn't do it. His creativity had stopped.

Leonardo da Vinci put down his brush. He went out and walked the streets and the alleys until he found the little boy. He said, "I'm sorry, son; I shouldn't have spoken so harshly. Forgive me, even as Christ forgives. I have done something worse than you. You only knocked over the canvases. But I, by my anger, blocked the flow of God into my life. Will you come back with me?"

He took the boy back into the studio with him. They smiled as the face of Jesus came quite naturally from the master's brush. That face has been an inspiration to millions ever since.

Editor's Note: We are reprinting a series of excerpts from the book Hours of Power, written by Dr. Robert H. Schuller

Consider for a minute the dilemmas that God faced at the dawn of creation. When God created humankind, His objective was to make a material form of life which would be a reflection of His own nonmaterial Self. Thus, He chose to make man "after His image," a decision-making creature, capable of discernment, judgment, evaluation, choice, and decision.

When God created such a person, He realized fully that this creature would have the power to decide against God. But let's look at the alternative. If He had designed a man who could never make a wrong decision, this creature would never be able to make a personal decision of his own. He would be nothing but a perfect, sinless, guiltless, error-free...person? No! Machine? Yes! Computer? Yes! Human being...never! God decided to take the greatest gamble of the ages-to make an opinion-forming, idea-collecting, decision-making creature. What He created was a potential sinner, but a potentially loving person as well.

Don't blame God for permitting sin. Thank God that He has never, in spite of our sins, taken our freedom from us, and with it our capability of becoming sincere, loving persons.

Don't blame God for the suffering in this world! Blame human beings for personally choosing the path leading to heartache and sorrow. Blame human beings for rejecting the divine truth when it was shown to them. Blame human beings for refusing God's salvation, even when offered in the name of Jesus! You have but to look at the cross and know that no human being can ever blame God for not going to the limit to save us.

Reprinted with permission from the Crystal Cathedral Ministries, located in Garden Grove, California. The church service from the Crystal Cathedral, called The Hour Of Power, is the longest running television ministry in history. and is seen all around the world.