When life falls apart, what’s left to stand on?
At 32 years old, Jonathan Abel was in the hospital, unable to stand or walk without his heart racing above 130bpm. His nervous system was shutting down, and he didn’t know if he’d see 33. In the silence of that crisis, something broke open — not his faith, but his illusions about where his faith had been anchored.
Romans 8:18 says it plainly: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Your hardest season is not the final word. Jonathan’s breakthrough came through when his parents met someone at a grocery store they hadn’t seen in 30 years. This meetup wasn’t a coincidence, because when they told him what their son was going through, he shared that he had faced almost identical symptoms. He gave Jonathan's parents his protocol, and this brought Jonathan out of bed and back to health over a period of time. God works through the ordinary to deliver the miraculous!
What are you trying to fix on your own right now? Stop! Let the One who carried Calvary carry this as well. Listen to “I Stand Amazed In The Presence” and let it reset your focus on what is unshakeable. “How marvelous, how wonderful, is my Savior’s love for me.”
(Related scripture: Romans 8:18; Isaiah 53:4; Psalm 46:1)
Background:
I sat down at the piano to arrange and record this piece and was overcome with these great truths of the Gospel. This is what every believer's focus must be and what we all must cling to in the darkest times.
Recently, I went through a serious health crisis. I was suffering from severe dehydration, panic attacks and gut issues. My nervous system was shutting down. I couldn't stand without my heart rate going above 130, and couldn't walk. I had multiple trips to the ER in the ambulance. There I was 32 years old laying in a hospital bed wondering if I would make it to 33.
When I was in the midst of this dilemma, I never thought a break-through would come, and when I was faced with the idea that it wouldn't, it left me searching. What did I find? The temptation to anchor our identity in perfect health, great wealth and all the rest is deceivingly real, but true faith can only be rooted in what Christ has done for us - His promise of eternal life.
It was bewildering to me how hard it was to stop trying, to let go - to rest in God, but it was. I truly encountered the great weakness of my faith - but there was good news! The source of our hope cannot be found in our ability to fix ourselves, but can only be found in the great salvation God has provided and promised. We have been saved from sin's penalty - we are being saved from sin's power, and we will be saved from sin's presence! And as it says in Romans, "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us."
One day, I literally cried out to God to deliver me, and He did. That same hour, my parents asked God to heal me before entering a grocery store they frequently visited. They met a man there in the store they hadn't seen in 30 years. Back in the day they called him "Freaky Frank" because he was so skinny and couldn't gain weight. Today he is healthy and strong. They told him about my situation, and he instantly lit up and knew there was a reason God wanted him to be at this particular store at this time. He said he had gone through exactly what I had gone through with almost identical symptoms. He gave my parents his protocol and this is what brought me out of the bed and back to health over a period of time.
God gave me a miracle. From being bedridden then to now running multiple times a week, I thank God every day for the health He has given me and for the ability to record, sing and lift up His name. All I can say is "I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how He could love me a sinner, condemned unclean. How marvelous! How wonderful is my Savior's love for me!"
Release date: May 22, 2026
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