Faith Can Help You Through Recession, Adversity

Joel George wants you to have faith.

And his message couldn't come at a better time. With unemployment reaching record levels and the economy reeling from bank failures, market lapses and multiple industry bail-outs, hope for the future is dimmer than ever.

But George, author of Signs and Visions Fulfilled from Morris Publishing (www.signsandvisions.com), has faced tough times, including an employer who cheated him out of money, false accusations of criminal activity and an accident that had him bouncing from doctor to doctor.

"When you are going through something like I have," George said, "some people do not like to see that you can still smile and have joy and be thankful to the Lord while you are going through your suffering."

George's story makes the current economic crisis pale by comparison.

It began with him falling out of a tree at work, and then being manipulated by his employers so they could avoid a worker's compensation claim and liability for the fall. At one point, they even had a doctor trying to convince him the damage to his knee didn't come from the fall, but rather, by a just-detected cancer.

After that, he was accused of selling drugs and abducting a young woman, but through it all, George held fast to his belief in God and was rewarded with happiness and joy in his faith, he said. He credited his ability to persevere to his relationship with his Pastor and the Elders of his church, and his unique outlook on the Christian religion.

"I hope that someone doesn't think that I'm trying to persuade them. I am just giving my testimony," he explained. "But as the country faces adversity and hopelessness, I just wanted to let them know that hope is not gone. Hope, perhaps the best of things, can be delivered to each of us through faith. Scripture tells us ‘Act as ye have faith, and faith shall come unto thee.' I'm living proof that it works."

George expressed his belief that those who suffer can be brought closer to God as a result of their suffering. He is very steadfast in that conviction, stating that, "When you see the goodness in someone, you see God."

He is also very strong in his belief that forgiveness is a key component to a life of faith and redemption, even amidst the profiteering and fraud that seems to run rampant in the marketplace.

"You cannot get into heaven with hate in your heart," he said. "You see, if some people would turn down the hate and exercise love, we can overcome. The first thing people should do is learn how to forgive one another."

Joel George was born in Lancaster, South Carolina and comes from a family with 10 sisters and brothers. His journey that led him to explore his relationship with God began when he fell out of a tree while at work. He hopes that others can take his cue and be open to finding God the way he did - without warning, and with absolute joy.