Hope for the Hopeless: Finding Your Miracle in Plain Sight

By Robert Zimmerman

After receiving a certain and imminent death sentence from untreatable cancer on Christmas Eve, I was faced with absolute hopelessness. Only in desperation could I find the understanding I needed to witness a season of miracles and intimacy with a God that I took for granted so many years.

Within this book are the events and newfound realities that broke the grip of a cancer which had never been beaten by medical science, and the invaluable life lessons birthed in moments of intimacy with the Holy Spirit during that battle. I truly believe there is something for everyone contained within.

Miracles are the very glue of the Bible. The miracle of creation opens the book, followed by a multitude of examples of our Heavenly Father intervening supernaturally for His people, all the way to the return of our Savior. Unless God has changed, a concept both the Scripture and theology vehemently reject, miracles are still available and prevalent today. Why are you not seeing the supernatural in your life? Why does fear have such a strong grip on you? What can you do to change those truths?

The answers are found within.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Dec 30, 2022
• ISBN: 9781662482410

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Hope for the Hopeless

Finding Your Miracle in Plain Sight

Robert Zimmerman

Copyright © 2022 Robert Zimmerman

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2022

ISBN 978-1-6624-8240-3 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-6624-8241-0 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Foreword

Introduction: Blindsided by a Death Sentence

A Season of Miracles (My Elevator Pitch)

First Signs (The Cost of Neglect)

Next Steps (Tread Lightly)

Joy in the Wilderness (Don't Let Your Battle Change Who You Are)

Spiritual Insights Hidden in Plain Sight

Conquest (How to Advance by Retreating)

Eyes that See The Kingdom of God Is Near

I Would Be John Wayne (How Does Your Garden Grow?)

God's Unimaginable Bounty (Taste and See that the Lord Is Good)

Perspective (Decision-Making Without the Regret)

Healing vs. Health (Faith Is a Journey)

Lost in Translation (A Few Words About Words)

Concluding Remarks (To be Once-Born Is Human, To be Twice-Born Is Divine)

Postscript: My Latest Brush with Death

About the Author

Foreword

I came to the Lord on March 17, 1981, at a free showing of the movie, The Cross and the Switchblade, the story of David Wilkerson's missionary work with inner-city gang members. Through much peril and sacrifice, Mr. Wilkerson was a party to an incredible miracle—the changing of the heart of a notorious, unquestioned leader of gang warfare, Nicky Cruz. Without knowing it, his obedience to God's calling also was the door through which Jesus set my heart free and the heart of my close friend, Chris Meidl. On the following day, Chris and I were water baptized together in a Tempe, Arizona, swimming pool and received the gift of the Holy Spirit.

I was a confused and distracted teenager, living away from home for the first time, and unable to handle the temptations of life on a major university campus. I was failing out of school spectacularly.

My redemption and restart literally changed my heart in an instant. The circumstances around me began to change as the months moved forward. I made the dean's list each semester following my transformation and landed scholarships covering my tuition for my senior year.

From there, I went on to earn a master's degree in business from Regent University, Pat Robertson's fledgling graduate school, and earned membership into the Professional Golfers' Association (PGA).

Over time, the freshness of my conversion wore off, and I settled into a lifestyle where I knew the truth but did not display it in my daily life. Although I knew I was saved, I had grown stale.

Thirty-four years after my conversion, I was faced with a death sentence from cancer. Several of the top cancer institutes confirmed that mine was one for which medical science had no answers. There was not a single soul on earth that could help me, none who could provide proven, lifesaving treatment.

That event and that realization took me back to the desperation I felt back in 1981. What came from that time of hopelessness is within this book. It is my sincere hope that the pages to follow give you a reason to push forward, no matter your circumstances, no matter the depth of your current situation.

Put simply, I discovered the miraculous, unseen world of the Holy Spirit and the promises of our Father, hidden in plain sight.

Some of the topics we'll talk about include:

Why it's logical to believe in the unseen.

The seed principle.

Simple devotion to Christ.

God's incredible bounty.

Hearing His voice.

Miraculous healing and ongoing health.

Adopting His perspective.

Winning from a place of rest.

I hope that the insights I've found in plain sight will help you overcome in a time of great uncertainty and bring you peace, power, and overwhelming victory against all odds.

You will notice that many of the verses I have included appear repeatedly. That is by design. During my battles and subsequent victories, these verses were the foundations of my faith. Having committed them to memory allowed me to enjoy their comfort and confidence regardless of where I was and what I was doing. They became a part of my thought life. I never need to search them out in Scripture because they are living and active in my very spirit.

I am not a theologian, as you will likely figure out pretty quickly. I am a disciple and a friend of the Lord through His Holy Spirit. In life, I am a normal guy with a normal job, normal family, and normal fears and doubts. Fortunately for you and me, the people Jesus gravitated toward and ministered to were simple people with hearts that wanted to know Him.

If you don't currently have a desire to know Him, I hope you will discover that piece of you from this book. If you already have a heart for Him, I believe this book will bring you tremendous joy.

Father, I pray that the pages of this book are a vehicle for You to continually bless the readers. I ask that the verses and principles herein will bring joy, intimacy, and victory and open up a season of miracles through Your gracious promises hidden in plain sight. In Jesus's mighty name I ask these things. Amen.

Section 1

Introduction: Blindsided by a Death Sentence

My reason for writing this book is to help those in need of a miracle. In my case, that miracle was victory over cancer. This first section will deal entirely and solely with my battle to live. Section 2 will look at some of the things I have learned throughout the process of my faith journey—things available to all of us and hidden in plain sight in the Scriptures. I will also share some of the miracles that continue to flow in my life since learning these valuable truths and putting them to work in my struggle to thrive.

In the original draft, I did not go into the details of my treatment. My coverage of it was limited to the victories won. My wife, Jill, as my trusted editor, prevailed upon me to go into the painful details of the daily battle we faced going from prognosis to saving faith and to ultimate victory.

Although my condensed version might pique interest in God's healing power, it did very little for the people who are suffering through the disease, treatment, stigma, and fear. These are the people I wish to reach the most. I have been there, as has my family, siblings, friends, and people around the country who agreed to add me to their daily prayers.

In Section 2, I will also include some of my random social media posts to give you a more rounded picture of who I am. Humor is a large part of my personality and my approach to life. When I was a child, my mother would send me into situations with my siblings when they were sad or suffering, calling me the lighter touch. I figure, since you'll be seeing the good, bad, and the ugly in me throughout the book, you may as well see the humorous.

The first chapter of this section is my elevator pitch. In sales, an elevator pitch is a succinct, accurate but vague, statement of a problem, solution, and outcome. The idea is to create an appetite in the prospect for a deeper discussion into whatever solution or product you are trying to sell. It may be as simple as, I have a unique technology solution that could help your company increase revenues while reducing staffing expenses and get your product to market quicker. I would love to discuss it with you sometime.

Boom. You told them everything from fifty-thousand feet while actually telling them nothing. The meat of your sales pitch will come if they express an interest, which gives you time to study their business and work on real, verifiable benefits with a road map of how to get there.

Chapter 1

A Season of Miracles (My Elevator Pitch)

On Christmas Eve 2015, while families all over the globe were getting together in a spirit of love and hope, children were giddy with anticipation of what laid hidden under the Christmas tree, and local shops buzzed with last-minute shoppers finalizing their lists to the sounds of Christmas music. I was sitting in a sterile examination room, trying to absorb the oncologist's dire words. Much of what he said was a blur, but I did hear him quite clearly tell me that I had a rare expression of cancer for which medical science had no cure.

The tumors were aggressive which meant, not only were they unstoppable, but they would end my life sooner rather than later. The diagnosis and subsequent prognosis were confirmed by four respected oncologists from different practices, including some brilliant doctors from The Benson Cancer Institute at Ochsner in Tulane and the Mayo Clinic