Trusting God Through Difficult Times / Guest Post by Samuel Feamster

I made the decision to commit my life to Jesus at the early age of seven years old. I was also growing up with a deep love for the game of hockey. At thirteen I decided that my goal was to play college hockey. I made a commitment to myself to do everything I could in order to make this goal a reality. For the next six years, from the time I was thirteen to nineteen, hockey became a bigger priority to me than my relationship with Jesus. Sure there were moments when I ran back to Christ and became centered again, but in general, my focus was on becoming the best hockey player possible.

In the summer of 2020, God began to get my attention. I was humbled when I went from playing high level AAA in Detroit to being cut from three different Tier 2 Junior teams. Due to Covid, I ended up playing for my local Tier 3 Junior team, the Pueblo Bulls. I was disappointed, angry, frustrated, confused, and unsure of God's plan for me. I felt like I deserved to be at a higher level and that God was saying No to my goal of playing college hockey. Sadly, instead of leaning into my faith, I searched for peace in my performance each day. I became more frustrated when I realized that I wasn't the best player on my Tier 3 Junior team. The combination of these thoughts, feelings, and experiences created the hardest season of my life. It felt as if nothing could go right that year. I was losing hope of reaching my goal, and it was a very long season.

The summer of 2021 also held disappointment. With my final year of junior hockey approaching, once again, I did not have a spot on a Tier 2 Junior team. However, this time I chose to lean into my faith instead of performance. One day during a summer skate, a former teammate told me about how his dad was taking over a junior team called the Helena Bighorns in Montana. His dad, Mike Greene, coached me for four seasons when I was playing AAA in Colorado Springs. He was someone I deeply respected and knew I could trust. His son, Tylor, told me that some of our former teammates were already committed to playing for the Bighorns. After praying, I decided this was an opportunity that I could not pass up. The team was in a lower level league, which meant it might be hard to get any solid college hockey offers. At the same time, it seemed as if God was directing me to Helena for a specific reason. I chose to trust the Lord.

During the first few months of the season, it all began to make sense. I quickly fell in love with the game once again and re-centered myself on Jesus. God was pulling me back to my true identity in Him and teaching me to trust Him with my career. In mid January, I found out that I had made the league all-star game, where many college scouts would be looking for players. I was sure this would be my chance to finally reach my goal!

However, trial struck again. Two weeks before the all star game, I went to make a move with the puck and my skate got caught between the boards and ice. I immediately felt my knee pop, leading to a horrible shooting pain. The trainer was unsure how bad it was, but after trying to go back out for another shift, I quickly realized that I could not skate. I could barely walk on it. Fear started to sneak into my heart and mind. The game ended and I got on the bus thinking that my chances of playing college hockey had just been crushed.  

The first 20 minutes of that ride back to Helena were filled with thoughts of the worst case scenario. I knew playing in the all star game could be my last chance to get an offer. I also knew that my knee did not feel like it would heal within the next two weeks. But then I caught myself from continuing down that train of thought and instead began to pray. I told God that I trusted Him and that I knew He had the best possible plan for me regardless of what happens with hockey. After about 10 minutes of prayer, I brought my head up and looked out the bus window. It was completely dark and we seemed to be in the middle of nowhere Montana. Just then, I saw a giant white cross, brightly illuminated on top of a hill. I stared at it as we drove by and almost couldn't believe that it was really there. Well, it was there and so was my God. At that moment I felt indescribable peace about not only my knee but my entire life. I knew God heard me and I heard Him. I was and still am so thankful that He is in control.

After a month, my knee was finally feeling healthy again. I was able to play the last two regular season games and the rest of the playoffs. Our team made a deep run and I was able to play well in front of a Liberty University coach at the league championship tournament. After the season ended, I was surprised to get an offer from the Liberty coach to go visit the school. It took one day on campus to realize that this was my dream school. I ended up committing to play for Liberty University a few hours before I flew home the second day. Not only had I finally reached my goal of playing college hockey, but I was going to be at a school that was better than any other spot I could have imagined! To top it all off, God also led my brother to Liberty and we will be playing together for the first time ever this upcoming season.

As I reflect on my story, God's direction in my life has been the ultimate blessing. This journey taught me how powerful God is and also how amazing life can be when we trust God. Trusting Him through the dark times can be difficult, but in the end is so worth it. As Isaiah 55:8-9 says, His ways are higher than our ways and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. The times where we feel lost, confused, or unsure of the next step are the times when we must lean into our faith the most. We can trust that these times produce character, perseverance, and wisdom (James 1:2-4, 12). We can also trust that we are always exactly where God wants us to be. His timing, direction, and guidance is specific and purposeful. Ultimately, regardless of the end result, we have victory through Jesus! I hope this encourages you to remember that God is always present, always active in our lives, and we can trust Him!

My name is Sam Feamster and I am from Pueblo, Colorado. I am a Christ follower going into my junior year of college at Liberty University. I am studying business and just got picked to be the captain of our ACHA D1 hockey team. Pure Encouragement has helped me to grow tremendously over the past three years.