Hope in 60 Seconds: Encountering the God of the Impossible

By Cristina Baker

Now more than ever, we all face trying situations. The hope we need and hunger for is not a strategy or state of mind, but faith in Jesus. He stands secure for us in the face of every trial, from loss to sickness to injustice. Through 20 short prayers, 10 personal stories of miraculous transformations, and Biblical teachings, Hope in 60 Seconds will help you take the first steps towards a journey of security in the hope of Jesus.

“At twenty-one I was as far from hopeful as anyone could get. Maybe as far as you are now.”

These are the words of Cristina Baker as she considered her traumatic life: from childhood abuse to troubled teen years, to a descent into substance abuse, she resonates with a lost world who understands first-hand how easy it is to lose hope. Then, just as she was about to go to jail for drug possession, the Hero of Hope, Jesus Christ, came into her life and set her on a completely new path.

If you are weary and doubting, Cristina understands. Hope in 60 Seconds will help you to:

• Be encouraged and empowered by someone who has been in a similar place of discouragement and discovered Christ’s authority and love,
• Learn how Jesus establishes hope and begin to experience it first-hand in the darkest of circumstances,
• Grow in your ability to connect with Jesus and find the hope you have longed for all of your life, and
• Prove that a connection with Jesus is the ultimate source of hope.

The message of Cristina’s life is Jesus, the hope we need and hunger for—a hope that will stand secure in the face of brokenness, loss, sickness, abuse, a brain tumor diagnosis, injustice, and death. In Hope in 60 Seconds, she shares the steps of her journey to encounter, receive, and walk in the hope of Jesus, and offers readers powerful wisdom for how they can take the same journey for themselves.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Thomas Nelson
• Release date: May 31, 2022
• ISBN: 9780785253631

Cristina Baker

Cristina Baker has made it her mission to help people experience intimacy in relationship with Jesus. Her video content on social media has inspired those in a season of darkness to find hope and discover the power of prayer. Cristina lives in Austin, Texas, with her husband, their teenage son, and three dogs.

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INTRODUCTION

I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

ROMANS 8:38–39 NLT

DURING THE EARLY MONTHS OF 2020, A GREAT CRISIS occurred in the earth. In my spirit I could sense the pain of so many people gripped with fear, great losses, and grief. At about one o’clock one morning, my husband, Ryan, and a close friend encouraged me to go online and share a prayer that the Lord put on my heart. I used TikTok to record a series of prayers of hope without having a clue as to who would see it. To our surprise, the videos started going viral.

People desperately needed hope, and I began to share daily prayers for those who longed for a touch from God. In sixty-second videos, I shared the stories of a miracle-working God who revived me in my darkest hour. With the world locked up in their homes, God gave me an opportunity to pray for others just as others had prayed for me in my time of greatest need.

I realize that sixty-second videos may not seem like a lot. How on earth could such a short message make an impact? But sixty seconds was long enough to share the hope, goodness, and power of God with people who needed a touch from heaven.

People hunger to connect with God. Clearly, they hold a deep desire to believe that God sees and hears the cries of their hearts. Prayer creates a connection with God, even through a screen.

Our God is resourceful. He is not limited by time and space like us. He will use anything and everything to reach the depths of our hearts, even social media. Our family began to pray over every video before releasing it, and we asked the Lord to anoint every word and prayer, that He would bring breakthrough in people’s hearts and lives. By faith we prayed people would have full-blown encounters with God. God answered our prayers.

People began reaching out, asking me about the passion behind the prayers. That’s why I wrote this book. In Hope in 60 Seconds, I want to share how the God of hope took my broken life and transformed it from the inside out. It tells the story of God stepping into the room and, in an instant, delivering me from the darkness that enslaved me for so long. From homelessness to addiction and, finally, jail, the God of all hope restored my heart and my life. This fuels my passion to share my story, His story, with you.

Whether we know it or not, we yearn to connect with the One who created us. We’re all searching for answers. The pressing on humanity these past two years stirred a deep longing for Jesus all over the earth. In a time of great crisis, God has been awakening us, calling us to the foot of the cross, inviting us into His heart, beckoning us to hear His voice and know Him. God wants to give you hope in the midst of your trials, to reveal that a better day is coming.

I share the rawest, most vulnerable moments of my life in the pages to come—abuse, neglect, sickness, shame, death, addiction, and incarceration. Jail is where I met the God of redemption. I met the giver of hope. The mender of souls. The healer of hearts. He found me in my darkest hour and loved me with an everlasting love. He rescued me and showed me a love I had never known before.

My story reveals the reality of a God who creates beauty from ashes. A God who stopped at nothing to fight for me. Nothing stood against the power of His might to save me, not even darkness itself. The love of God chases and pursues the runaway and adores the ones who everyone else has abandoned. My story paints a picture of the God who binds up and heals the brokenhearted, the God who heals cancer and raises the dead to life. My story displays a God who will go to the ends of the earth for you. He is a friend, closer than our very skin. You may not believe it, but it’s true, and I’ll show this to you.

I was dead inside, lifeless and hopeless. Jesus stepped into my life, and I walked out of the grave fully alive and fully free. Now I live for Him. He saved me from myself, and I found what I had been looking for my entire life (in all the wrong places)—His love. He found me on a broken road and filled me with His presence.

I rejected God and stuck my fist up to Him for most of my life because I could not understand how a perfect God could love and want me. I could not comprehend a good God in a world of such darkness. Then redemption came knocking at my door, I encountered His love, and I was never the same. Threaded throughout my story, you’ll see glimpses of the restoration He desires for all of us. One day we will behold the face of Jesus, and all things will be made new.

And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.

Then He who sat on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. (Revelation 21:4–5)

What a hope we have in Jesus! We get to look forward to the day when the Lord will wipe away every tear from our eyes, and we will live for eternity with Him, no more pain or sorrow. Everything we went through on earth will disappear the moment we come face-to-face with Jesus.

All my life I wanted hope more than anything, but I had no clue how to attain it. Until I met Hope. Not a concept. Not an attitude or idea. But a person—Jesus Christ. We all have a story to tell. We can look back and recognize moments when God showed up for us, even when we didn’t see Him.

The stories I share in this book are those points in my life when I look back and see God’s hand on me, despite my seriously dark circumstances. I may not have recognized Him while I walked those valleys, but now I clearly see how the God of all creation stepped into those moments, before I even acknowledged Him, and revealed facets of His character I hadn’t seen before. He became my Hero of Hope and my closest friend.

I could run to prayer when everything around me swirled in utter chaos. It became my lifeline, and I yearned to be in the presence of the One who loved me. The Lord began to teach me the power of prayer—how He uses it to release His kingdom through us, change us, and change the world around us.

Whether you’ve walked with Jesus all of your life or you just met Him yesterday, I want my story to ignite faith in you to believe God for the impossible. I pray that this story will bring you hope and encourage you to believe that if He did it for me, He will do it for you, no matter how impossible things seem. I believe we are entering a time in history where the Spirit of God will pour out over the earth like never before. I believe we stand in an hour when people’s hearts deeply cry out to know Jesus and the hope He brings.

For every closed door, a key unlocks it to reveal what’s inside. I want to share the keys of revelation and truth the Lord gave me through some of the most painful, difficult seasons of my life. My story can unlock doors in your life too.

I’m sharing the word of my testimony. The redeeming blood of the Lamb has covered me, and I have overcome! I walk in victory. I live in hope. The testimony of Jesus in our lives and His shed blood empower us to overcome all things, no matter what comes. May my story draw you closer to Jesus and reveal His heart to you in a deeper way. What He has done for me, He will do for you.

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Father, there is no place I can run where Your presence is not with me. I made my bed in hell, and You were there. I searched the highest mountains and the lowest valleys, and I found that nothing in this world compares to knowing You. You knew me before You formed me in my mother’s womb, and You have loved me with an everlasting love. Father, thank You for drawing me in with Your loving-kindness. You looked at me with the eyes of love, and I thank You for seeing me for who I would become. Lord, awaken my heart to the truth of Your Word; open my eyes to see the freedom You gave me by giving Your life for me. I want to know You, Jesus, and the mighty power that raised You from the dead. I love You, Lord Jesus! You are my everything.

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Chapter 1

UNDER ARREST

Where can I go from Your Spirit?

Or where can I flee from Your presence?

If I ascend into heaven, You are there;

If I make my bed in hell, behold, You are there.

If I take the wings of the morning,

And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

Even there Your hand shall lead me,

And Your right hand shall hold me.

PSALM 139:7–10

I’M NOT SURE HOW MUCH TIME HAD GONE BY BEFORE I noticed the red and blue lights flashing behind me. My first thought was, Why am I getting pulled over? followed quickly by, I have drugs in the car; what am I going to do! I tried to get rid of the pot I was smoking before I pulled the car over into the parking lot of a bank. I had just gotten off work at the university and was making a quick stop at my dealer’s house before going home.

The officer came up to the driver’s side, and I lowered my window, just a crack. Smoke from the weed seeped out of the open window into the officer’s face. It was unmistakable.

What’s the problem, Officer? I asked.

Ma’am, your registration is expired. Are you aware of that?

Nope. It was the truth. I was forgetting a lot of things lately; paying my bills was the last thing on my mind.

He could tell I was high. Ma’am, I’m going to ask you to step out of the vehicle.

Officer, why? What did I do? I asked him. Here’s my license, and I started looking through my purse.

Step out of the vehicle, ma’am.

I opened the door, and more smoke came out. Why are you pulling me over, Officer? I asked again as I stepped out of the car.

Ma’am, put your hands behind your back, he said firmly.

Why? What’s going on?

You’re under arrest.

He put me in handcuffs, then walked me back to his cruiser. He opened the back door and gestured me inside. I’d had many close calls before, but this was the first time I’d been caught. The police had stopped me before and searched my car, but I had somehow managed to throw all the drugs out the window before getting pulled over. The officers had searched the whole car but found nothing and had to let me go. After that, I felt untouchable. I was sure the officer would release me at any moment.

Is there anything in the vehicle I need to know about? he asked.

Nope, I lied. I wasn’t belligerent; I was just playing the fool. I knew better than to admit any guilt whatsoever.

He walked back to my car, and I leaned over to watch him through the windshield. I saw him pull out my purse from between the front seats. The drugs were in plain sight, along with other drug paraphernalia. I had at least a half dozen prescription bottles in there, some with the labels ripped off, all full of pills I had obtained from several doctors and pharmacies all over town.

He walked back to the cruiser—his hands holding prescription bottles, a bong, and the drugs he found in my purse—then placed everything on the hood of the car. Looking at me from outside the police car, he said, Miss Cabrera, do you know why you are going to jail tonight?

Nope. Still playing the fool. Still feeling untouchable.

Okay, then. He got into the front seat, closed the door, and began writing up the report.

"Am I really going to jail?"

Yes, ma’am, he replied without even giving me a glance, "you are really going to jail."

The handcuffs dug into my wrists. Suddenly, I no longer felt untouchable.

There was no getting out of it this time. He had found everything. The jig was up.

I felt a surge of anger. I looked up and prayed what may have been my first prayer. "Why are You doing this to me?"

Like my father, I was a self-proclaimed atheist, but even as I sat in the back of the police car, it was as if I had this sense that I wasn’t alone. I blamed God. Even acknowledging Him was something new. What have I ever done? I said silently, Who will take care of my son? I was breaking. I had just been arrested for driving high with drugs in my car, but I was the victim. I blamed God for all of it—everything bad I had ever gone through raced through my mind, a litany of punishments He’d given me. This is all Your fault. Except, I didn’t believe God existed. Did I? You are putting me through something else, I whispered to, well, to whatever was out there listening.

We drove in silence. Occasionally, a noise would come