Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:01):
It's time now to get
the hell out of your life.
A weekly broadcast with realpeople sharing real struggles
and offering real hope.
Today's show will encourage,inspire and empower you to face
life's challenges with a boldconfidence and renewed hope.
Now let's join our host, ronMyers.
The promoter.
Ron Meyers (00:22):
Hello, my friends,
it is so good to be with you
once again.
I have a question what happenswhen God wakes you up at night
with an urgent message?
Well, my guest today, SharonRivas, faced every parent's
worst nightmare when her18-year-old daughter, Bethany
died in a car accident.
But this story which you willhear today begins hours before
(00:46):
the tragedy, when Sharon wasawakened by God to pray for her
daughter.
A fascinating story.
I know you will be encouraged,because God is working in all
the details of all of our lives.
Let's take a listen to WalkingThrough the Fire with Sharon
Rivas.
Sharon Rivas (01:06):
My story matters.
It has touched many lives.
I spoke for 10 years forMothers Against Drunk Drivers.
But let me tell you, as youmentioned, we were a Christian,
a devout Christian family.
But when my daughter was 18,she moved out and moved in with
her boyfriend and quit going tochurch and said that she wasn't
sure if she believed in Godanymore.
So that was a cause for concernand every morning at 530, I
(01:30):
would get up and have devotionsand pray for her and ask God to
bring her back to him, back toher faith.
And one night, as I was reallydrifted off to sleep, a thought
that was so loud in my head wokeme up and said pray for Bethany
, pray for Bethany.
And it was about 10 o'clock atnight and I said oh, my goodness
(01:52):
, I'm dead tired, it's Sundaynight, I have to get up and go
to work tomorrow.
Let me just pray when I have mydevotions tomorrow at 530.
But the voice was even louderin my head and it said roll over
on your back, you can't go backto sleep, you need to pray for
your daughter.
And I said why, lord?
What's going on?
And he said I need you to prayto release her soul to me
tonight and I should haverealized then that something
(02:13):
very, very wrong was going tohappen.
He said you've been praying foryour daughter to come back to
me.
Are you willing to allow evensuffering and death for me to
use even that to bring yourdaughter back to me?
And I said no.
But I realized that he was justwaiting for me, with free will,
to make that decision, and Icried and I wept and I said to
myself do I want my daughterhere with me in life or do I
(02:36):
want to know that her soul iswith God and she'll be forever
in eternity with him?
And I cried for one hour beforeI could make a decision and I
finally told God all right, god,I'm releasing her soul to you,
but on one condition please sendsomeone to hold her and pray
with her to her last breath.
And then, just exhausted fromcrying, I had cried for one hour
, about 11 o'clock when I lookedat the clock, when I told God
(02:58):
that, and at 3 am the phone rang, it was the hospital and they
said come immediately to thehospital.
Your daughter's been in anaccident.
And we discovered that she hadbeen killed.
And, as far as we understood,we thought she had been killed
instantly and I was veryoverwhelmed.
We thought that she'd just diedimmediately in the car crash.
A few hours later, when wecontacted a police chief, he
(03:20):
said well, actually, did youknow that a lady resuscitated
your daughter and she lived fora few minutes and that's why we
sent a life helicopter out, lifeFlight, thinking that she might
live.
But then she died a few minuteslater.
But there was a lady with herand so I prayed.
Please, god, give me the.
Let me know what happened.
The next day our pastor knockedon the door early in the morning
(03:40):
and he said a lady orderedflowers and said it was
imperative that we get thisletter to you that she had
written and it was from the ladywho resuscitated my daughter.
And she said I want you to knowthat I was there holding and
praying with your daughter untilher last breath.
And she said I had been gettingready for bed and God said stop
, I need you to do something forme.
(04:01):
And it was in March, so it wascold out.
She got her coat and sat out onthe porch and she just kept
sitting there, not knowing why,and she went out there at 10
o'clock and was sitting thereuntil 11.
And at 11 o'clock she heard acrash and she had some medical
knowledge and knew how toresuscitate.
She jumped in her car.
She already had her coat on,wasn't undressed.
(04:22):
She drove to her car.
She was already had her coat on, wasn't undressed.
She drove to the car to thesite, she saw Bethany laying in
the road and the thought in herhead said revive that girl and
pray with her.
And she got out and she rushedover to her and at first, you
know, she was dead.
She took her pulse and she, youknow, was dead.
But she resuscitated her andthe thought said pray with this
girl, pray out loud, pray withher.
(04:43):
And so she prayed over her andas she held her she told us that
she felt.
We did have a chance to talkwith her later, so I'm giving
details that she gave, even aswe met her in person.
She said she felt Bethany'ssoul, that she made peace with
God and it went right throughher as she held her and she said
Bethany's soul was at peace,she'd made peace with God.
(05:23):
No-transcript.
My daughter had said when shewas young that she wanted to be
a missionary, that her greatestdesire was to be a missionary
and this is from her diary quotego all over the world telling
people about God, unquote.
And you know, when she wanderedaway from the Lord, I just gave
up on that dream for her andespecially when she died, I said
well, that's it.
(05:43):
You know, bethany's dream ofbeing a missionary will never
come true, going all over theworld speaking for God.
But when I went to the Dallasconvention it was a Manatee
convention they had people therefrom countries all over the
world and they had a booth ofpeople translating everything I
said.
And there were sections ofpeople from Korea you know
(06:04):
wherever they were, all over theworld Italy, Spain, africa, you
know all over and they hadheadphones on.
And as I told my story and Isaw all the different groups of
international people listeningto her story, I realized that
Bethany's dream had beenfulfilled, that they were
hearing her story and the storyof God ministering to Bethany
(06:24):
for people all over the world.
Ron Meyers (06:26):
Wow.
Sharon Rivas (06:27):
So Bethany in
death was able to do and
accomplish what she had not donein life and I just praise God.
Don't ever give up on a dream.
Don't ever give up on someonecoming back to God and to their
faith.
It might happen at the lastmoment, the last split second.
It took that woman to tell methat she felt Bethany's soul go
(06:49):
right through her body as itpassed and that she knew that.
She knew that she knew becauseas she prayed with Bethany,
everything her heart rate, herbreathing, calmed as she prayed
with her and she became verypeaceful and she said I knew
that Bethany was listening andthat she had made peace with God
and was ready to go home.
So God can reach someone in thelast moments of their life, in
(07:10):
the last breath of their life.
Ron Meyers (07:12):
Wow, Sharon, I
really did not know that depth
of the story and my heart breaks.
And you know, one thing I wantto touch on I think it is so
important that people hear howGod woke you up and then how he
woke this good Samaritan, thislady, up.
You knew something was going onwith Bethany before you got
(07:35):
that call at three o'clock inthe morning.
Because of your relationshipwith God, God is concerned about
every single human being onthis planet, isn't he?
Sharon Rivas (07:46):
Yes, he is.
And in the book.
When the editor approached me,I had done a little booklet
about the story to send out.
My husband was a pastor and wehad pastored other churches and
so I made up some booklets aboutthe story to send to the
church's people, our Friends,and someone had given it to an
editor of a Christian publishingcompany and she said who do you
(08:08):
want this book to reach?
And she thought I was going totalk about the drunk driving
crowd or my Christian brothersand sisters in the Lord.
And I said no, the atheists,because there's too many people
who don't believe there's a God.
And how did I hear God?
How did I know that was God'svoice?
That woke me up?
It's because I had nurtured arelationship with God.
When I tell people it's like aChristmas tree.
(08:28):
You can buy a Christmas tree,set it up, put ornaments on it
and even string lights on it,but unless you plug it into the
power socket it doesn't light up.
So you can have a Bible, youcan even read it, maybe go to
church or watch a TV programwith an evangelist speaking
church, or watch a TV programwith an evangelist speaking, but
until you get a personalrelationship with God through
Jesus Christ, you don't have thepower, you don't have the
(08:49):
connection.
You need that relationship andI had developed that and I knew
it was God talking.
And the book is full of miracles, ron.
The book is full of miraclesthat had transpired over my life
that God had answered over andover and over, till I knew his
voice.
And I knew, when he woke me up,that it was serious, that I
needed to obey, and I believed.
(09:09):
That's why I said send someoneto hold her and pray with her
till her last breath, because Ibelieved in my heart that God
could do it.
And I found out that he did andit was, you know, just a
miraculous story.
If readers do get that book it'salso an e-book on Amazon they
will find out that God can meetyou and speak with you in the
(09:30):
smallest things in life.
God doesn't interfere in ourlives unless we ask him to help
us.
Only then does he intervene,which means help.
He gives us free will, so hedoesn't interfere.
But if we ask him for help, ron, he will intervene and help us
in the small things and the bigthings.
And I'm so glad that I nurturedsmall things so that when it
came time for a big thing likemy daughter's death, I knew that
(09:53):
God would be in that situationas well and that he could do the
miracles that he did.
Ron Meyers (09:59):
Sharon, you said
something that is so important.
It begins with those littlebaby steps.
You have got to be in touchwith God in that relationship so
much that you will recognizehis voice, because, as you said,
there are people right now thathave been in church their whole
life but they wouldn'trecognize God's voice because
(10:19):
they've never spent time withGod other than on Sunday.
If we want God to speak to usand warn us and encourage us in
our life, it is a day-to-day,minute-to-minute relationship,
isn't it?
Yes, it is.
What kind of feedback are youhearing from people that have
read the book?
Sharon Rivas (10:39):
Oh, my goodness,
it's staggering.
I have people who've emailed meand have emailed the editor,
that they were devout atheistsand after reading my book they
could no longer hold thatopinion.
I had someone tell me I've beenan atheist all my life and now
that I've read your book, Idon't know what to do.
It has completely upturned myworldview and now I'm having to
(11:02):
decide what I'm going to doabout it.
It happened to be a man at workAt the time.
I worked at a construction firm, so there's a lot of tough
people that had a lot of foullanguage going on.
But this one person said Idon't know what to do about it,
sharon, I need to think about it.
And I ended up leaving thatcompany and going on to another
position, better position.
But I notice now we're friendson Facebook and he posts things
(11:23):
about God all the time, so Iknow that at some point he went
from being an atheist to nowbeing a very devout believer.
We've had emails from people in20 different countries who have
either read it online and theyall say that it changed their
lives and young people who readit.
When I talk to them about thedrunk driving issue, one time I
(11:44):
had a young man who was a waiterin a restaurant and when we
gave the credit card he said oh,rebus.
He said I thought you lookedfamiliar.
Are you Bethany's mom?
And I said yes, how do you knowabout Bethany?
He said you spoke in my highschool two years ago and at the
time I was hungover.
I had been to a party anddrinking till late in the night.
(12:09):
And he said I was hungover.
But I saw your slide, you knowyour PowerPoint of Bethany and
heard her story and I want youto know that I have not had a
drink of alcohol since and it'sbeen two years, and my mother
would hug you because I was alost cause.
They had grounded me anddisciplined me.
But it was your daughter'sstory that got me to change my
life and I haven't had a drop ofliquor since.
Ron Meyers (12:27):
So I know that her
story is reaching people.
Sharon, that little missionary,bethany, is actively working
right now on this radio show,the podcast, and in your book
and your unselfishness inreleasing her that night when
God was speaking to you now hasliterally touched hundreds,
maybe thousands, of peopleacross the world, hasn't it?
Sharon Rivas (12:50):
Yes, she is the
missionary.
She has fulfilled that dream.
Ron Meyers (12:53):
Sharon, right now
there are some naysayers, some
doubters, some atheists that arelistening.
You have an opportunity tospeak to them.
What would you say?
Sharon Rivas (13:00):
Well, two things.
Please read this story becausethere's so many miracles that
are beyond coincidence.
They're providence and there'sa difference.
They're just absolutely beyondthe pale of coincidence.
So please read the story.
But also because we have freewill.
God, as I said earlier, doesnot interfere in our lives.
So somebody can say to me I'venever heard God speak, but that
(13:22):
is because you've never askedhim a question.
Please ask him and allow him toanswer it and start that
communication, start thatrelationship with him.
Ron Meyers (13:31):
In my book I talk
about the voice that saved me
many times and a lot of peoplelook at me or think, boy, that
guy's a little kooky.
Sharon Rivas (13:41):
He talks with God
and it will be a thought that's
not your own.
Yes, you can ask a questionthat you don't know the answer
to and he'll give you the answer.
It may be a thought in yourhead, or the next magazine
article that you pick up andread.
Something you hear on the radio, or even in a song, will
minister to you.
But you know that, you knowthat, you know that God is
answering you.
Ron Meyers (14:02):
Sharon, I just have
so much respect and love for you
and for what you're doing andlittle Bethany, missionary
across the world, and I'm soglad that you were able to share
her story with me and mylisteners.
Listeners, this is a powerfulstory.
Share this podcast, share thisradio show with other people and
(14:23):
Sharon, god bless you and isthere anything you'd like to say
?
Please do.
Sharon Rivas (14:29):
Well, I'm just.
I encourage people to listen tothis podcast and to read Ron
Meyer's book.
That book inspired me andtouched me.
I tell you I couldn't put itdown.
Oh, my goodness.
Your book is just asencouraging and inspirational as
mine is about miracles andabout tragedy and God getting us
through the trial.
So anyone out there listeningget Ron Meyer's book because it
(14:53):
is phenomenal Many miracles andhearing God's voice and even
your attempt as a child.
You know, I guess the listenersI don't know if they know about
your suicide attempt andhearing that voice and being
rescued.
So his book is a page turner.
Ron Meyers (15:07):
Sharon, what would
you tell the person that has
given up hope?
They are just simply hopeless.
Sharon Rivas (15:12):
Well, the worst
fear that you can imagine at
least that I had always imaginedwas losing a child.
That was the one thing that Ithought I could never face.
And yet I did face that.
But it was with God'ssupernatural, unbelievable I say
supernatural strength andcomfort that he afforded our
family and all the miracles thatbegan happening before her
(15:37):
death, as I just talked about.
But after, there were manymiracles that happened
afterwards that confirmed usthat he was still helping,
bringing us messages of comfortand hope.
It was amazing, that kind ofstrength.
So, whatever it is you're goingthrough an illness or a job
situation, or even a fear thatyou have that you might lose a
(16:00):
loved one I can tell you that ifyou have a relationship with
God, when the worst possiblethings happen you lose a job
then God provides a better one.
An illness God can do.
I've had healing.
I've had healing in my life ofillnesses that the doctor said
wouldn't be healed and they were.
Whether he heals us or stopsthe tragedy from happening, or
(16:24):
helps us through it, helps usget through it and turns that
test into a testimony.
Either way, if we have thatrelationship with God and we say
God, no matter what happens.
I trust you.
And I did lose my daughter thatnight.
At first I prayed God, pleasedon't let her die, please don't
let her die.
But then I said not my will,but yours, god.
(16:46):
Not my will, but thine be done.
And in allowing that, then youknow it was an hour that I
prayed until she and that waswhen the wreck finally happened
was after I said all right, god,it's in your hands.
At 11 o'clock the accidentoccurred and it was after I had
finished saying all right, god,I give her to you.
She didn't die in that wreckfor one hour as I prayed, trying
(17:08):
to make up my mind, but I didlearn that she would have been
severely injured and probablywould have been a vegetable the
rest of her life if she hadn'tdied and so in death.
As I said, she's been amissionary and been able to
reach many lives.
Ron Meyers (17:19):
Sharon, I would just
love for you to tell maybe one
of your favorite stories aboutBethany as she was growing up
and that, so we can kind of geta picture of this precious
beautiful child of yours.
Sharon Rivas (17:32):
Oh, I would love
to.
When she was young she was very, very close to God as well and
would always pray.
And this one time we had beenin a car accident, it was prior
to the holidays and our attorney, through all the you know,
getting the money from theinsurance company, he said now
they're going to be closed overthe holidays, you're not going
to get that check until afterJanuary 1st.
(17:55):
And we were a little tight onfunds and Bethany knew that and
we said it was.
We kind of hinted that it wasgoing to be a very slim
Christmas that year.
And so we came home.
I came home from work and shewas sitting on the porch and she
said, mom, I've prayed and Iasked God to have that check
come before Christmas.
We need that check tomorrow.
And so God has reassured methat he'll get that check to us
(18:18):
tomorrow.
I said, oh, honey, no, no, theoffices are going to be closed,
remember, and it takes like 30days to process or whatever.
So we're not going to get thatfor a few weeks.
She goes well.
I asked God and he said that,since I had great faith and I
had asked him for this, that hewould provide.
And I, you know I felt so badbecause I didn't want God to
fail her.
But the phone rang that eveningand the attorney said this has
never happened to me.
(18:39):
I've been an attorney for 30years.
This has never happened.
They've never taken less thanthree to four weeks to process a
claim or whatever it was.
It was several weeks.
And he said and they've done itin 48 hours.
You can pick up the check at myoffice tomorrow.
And we picked it up and we wentand bought Christmas gifts.
She said see, I told you Godwould come through.
And that was her kind of faithand in some ways she taught me.
(19:01):
She taught me great lessons offaith.
I know that she came back, youknow, when she was in that last,
those last moments, she knewwho to call out to.
She knew that God was there,waiting, like the prodigal son,
you know, the father waiting atthe end of the road for her to
come home.
And I know she ran to him andhe gathered her into his arms
and said welcome home, bethany.
Ron Meyers (19:22):
Yeah, well done,
good and faithful servant.
Amen.
Listeners, the title of thebook is when you Walk Through
the Fire.
Sharon, where do listeners geta copy of your book?
Sharon Rivas (19:32):
It is available on
Amazon and there's also an
e-book that you can get throughAmazon on Kindle.
Ron Meyers (19:38):
Listeners, if you
need a faith lift, this is the
book to read, because this willgive you not only faith, but
you'll begin a conversation withGod.
Sharon, I want to ask you thishow do I get through the fire
that I'm walking through rightnow?
Please give me some advice.
Sharon Rivas (19:53):
Well, make sure
that God is going through the
fire with you, just like thechildren in the fiery furnace in
the Bible.
They were in the furnace andthe king looked in and said but
I see a fourth man in whitewho's with them.
And as you know the story, theywere not burned, you know their
hair singed and they lived.
It doesn't mean that you'llnever be in the fire, but if you
(20:13):
have God with you, then you canwithstand the fire.
Ron Meyers (20:18):
Somebody out there
listening that has a prodigal
daughter or son that has notcome back.
You're giving them a little bitof hope, Sharon.
Anything you want to say tothem.
Sharon Rivas (20:27):
Well, just don't
give up, because I didn't know
until a few months later, afterwe met the lady, that she gave
me the details about holdingBethany and the prayer and
feeling Bethany make peace withGod.
And you know, her soul was freewhen it left.
And so, as I say, god can reachsomeone in the very last second
of their last breath, even asuicide.
(20:48):
The last thought that goesthrough their mind may be God
help me.
Amen, or I'm sorry, or, god,into your hands I commit my
spirit.
Do not give up we don't knowthe final story until we get to
the other side because God isthere in the last seconds of
someone's life, loving them,caring for them and calling them
(21:09):
to him.
Ron Meyers (21:12):
Wow, what are you
thinking?
Her testimony serves as apowerful reminder about the
nature of prayer, divine timingand spiritual relationships.
Sharon emphasized that hearingGod's voice wasn't a random
occurrence, but the result ofnurturing an ongoing
(21:32):
relationship with him throughconsistent communication.
She explained it beautifullyusing the metaphor of a
Christmas tree.
You can set it up withornaments and lights, but unless
you plug it in, it doesn'tlight up.
Similarly, one might havereligious knowledge or practices
, but without a personalrelationship with God through
(21:56):
Jesus, the connection lackspower.
So today it's time to plug intoJesus and hear what he needs
you to hear and hear what heneeds you to hear.
Speaker 1 (22:09):
You're listening to
Get the Hell Out of your Life
with your host, ron Myers.
Real stories, real strugglesand real hope.
Speaker 4 (22:16):
The tragedies and
storms of life can sometimes
seem like you are walkingthrough fire, but rest assured
that Jesus is always there tohelp you.
My name is Mark and this is theJourney I remember when my wife
of nearly 20 years was battlingcancer.
The thought of losing her wasoverwhelming to the point that I
honestly did not know what todo.
(22:36):
The anguish was nearlyunbearable, but God carried me
through it all.
Life sometimes brings firesthat burn deep and storms that
can shake our very foundation.
You know it's easy to feelalone, weak and uncertain, but
God offers us something powerfuland unshakable His peace and
His presence.
(22:57):
Philippians chapter 4 reminds usto not be anxious about
anything but in every situation,by prayer and petition with
thanksgiving, present yourrequest to God, and the peace of
God, which transcends allunderstanding, will guard your
hearts and your minds in ChristJesus.
This peace doesn't come fromthe absence of hardship, but
(23:17):
from developing a personalrelationship with Jesus.
He's the friend who hears everywhispered prayer, the Savior
who walks with us through everystorm and the shepherd who
carries us when we cannot takeanother step, when the burdens
of life are too heavy.
He comes close and strengthensus, and sometimes he simply
carries us, just like he didwith me when my wife passed away
(23:41):
.
So I encourage you to spendtime with Jesus, praise him in
the good times and lean on Himin the bad.
The more you know Him, the moreyou learn to trust that, even
when everything else isuncertain, he remains faithful,
(24:13):
no matter the storm, no matterthe fire.
Speaker 5 (24:16):
Jesus is with you and
he will carry you through the
Journey.
Speaker 6 (24:24):
What's your story?
We're looking for stories ofhope and overcoming life's
struggles with God's grace.
Your story validates God's love, mercy, restoration and
forgiveness.
We want to help you share yourstory with the world.
Visit our website,thepromoterorg, and click on the
share your story link andsubmit your story.
Speaker 4 (24:53):
Your testimony of
God's amazing grace will change
a person's destiny for eternity.
Ron, we'll be back in a momentto wrap up today's conversation.
We want to encourage you todaywith God's promise to you.
It comes from the book ofJeremiah, chapter 29, verse 11.
For I know the plans I have foryou, declares the Lord.
Plans to prosper you and not toharm you.
(25:14):
Plans to give you hope and thefuture.
That's God's promise to youwhen you choose to commit your
plans and future to Him Now backto Ron.
Ron Meyers (25:28):
Well, friends, my
time is up, and today's powerful
story demonstrates the realityof faith beyond religious
routines.
It's about having arelationship with God so
intimate that you recognize hisvoice, trust his guidance and
experience his comfort, even inlife's most devastating fires.
(25:49):
Through Sharon and Bethany'sstory, we were reminded that
faith isn't just about believingcertain facts, but about
walking with God through everycircumstance, both joyful and
painful, and trusting that evenin our deepest sorrows, we can
become vessels for reachingothers with hope.
(26:09):
I'll be back next week withanother great episode of Get the
Hell Out of your Life,available on all podcast
platforms, so please tellsomeone In the meantime,
remember this I love you, jesusloves you, jesus loves you, and
when you give your heart toJesus, not only do you get the
(26:33):
hell out of your life, but youwill begin to hear the voice of
truth.
Speaker 1 (26:43):
Today's show is
proudly underwritten by the
Christmas City Gift Show.
Mark your calendars forNovember 7th through the 9th and
experience the magic inside theChristmas City Gift Show inside
the Mississippi CoastConvention Center located on the
beach in Biloxi, mississippi.
For more information, visitChristmasCityGiftShowcom.
If you would like to be a guestand share your story of God's
(27:06):
amazing grace, visit our websitethepromoterorg and click the
Share your Story tab button.
Thanks for listening, and ifyou would like to listen to
previous episodes, click on thepodcast tab at thepromoterorg.
Join us next week for anotheredition of Get the Hell Out of
your Life Real stories, realstruggles and real hope.
Speaker 4 (27:29):
Are you tired of
scrolling through the same old
news feeds every morning?
Then switch things up withCoffee News.
Our publication is filled withinteresting stories, brain
teasers and uplifting quotesthat are sure to brighten your
day, and now you can accessCoffee News anytime, anywhere,
by visiting our website.
So whether you're sipping yourmorning coffee at your favorite
cafe or browsing online fromyour desk, we've got you covered
(27:52):
.
Start your day off right withCoffee News at
readcoffeewsonlinecom.