Finding Your Way Back to God - Madi Comeaux - Revival of Hope 2026

going to hear from her beautiful voice and her beautiful heart and how God has brought her through a time when she thought it was over. So would you welcome Maddie. Hello thank you. It's an honour to be here and share the stage with some really incredible people and hear these incredible stories. So yes I'm Maddie, I'm from England not North Carolina native but I've been here for just over four years so I'm sure I'll wake up any day now with that southern roll. So yeah England lots of history beautiful architecture or with no AC. Beautiful churches although most of them have been made into restaurants and other things so yeah Christianity really is not as prominent as it is here but thankfully I was brought up by some incredible parents some godly parents and I grew up going to church and I learned the stories sang the songs and then you know how it goes I got older and I realized that there was this obeying and accountability aspect that I wasn't too fond of and waking up on Sunday mornings to go to church just didn't seem worth it anymore and it was around this time when I realized I was the only Christian out for my friends and then it just didn't seem cool anymore and I was actually it was probably about three or four of us in my grade throughout school that were believers and in my grade I had a friend called Rosie and Rosie was such a light she was the type of person that was always smiling and in 2015 she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer she was 11 years old and she went through chemotherapy she lost all her hair and she still came into school with a smile on her face she's wearing these beautiful colorful scarves and she would come in and she would still ask how I was doing and five months after her diagnosis she passed away that was my first loss it was my first funeral and it was the first thing that made me take a step back from god you know she was she was innocent she wouldn't hurt a fly how could god have taken her away how could he do this but I still believed in god and I still prayed and when I say I prayed I mean I asked god for things treated him as my genie and fast forward a little bit and I was in high school and my family and I were on vacation and the day before we were meant to fly home my dad took a turn and he was just not doing well we still flew home the next day and that only made it worse so much so that he had an ambulance waiting for him when the plane landed and I don't think I understood the severity of the situation at the time the flight attendants were doing their best to distract my sister and I by showing us the cockpit and all these buttons and taking our pictures but he had a bleed on the brain and I remember sitting on the couch at home with my nan and I said is he gonna be okay is he gonna die and she said we don't know and I have to respect

the honesty and the complete lack of sugar coating but he was okay for the most part he lost part of his vision and it was the important part that you need to drive so he had to surrender his license and later down the road he was diagnosed with epilepsy after having a seizure but he was okay but again that was another thing that made me take another step back from god you know my dad was okay why did any of this had to have to happen um to you know he was a he was a good Christian my parents both of the model Christians how could god let that happen to them to to to good christians but I still believed and I still prayed still asked him for things but by now I wasn't living a life that anyone would recognize as a christian one and that anyone would be able to differentiate from that of my friends and one of my friends was a guy called Dylan and he He was a fun guy, he was a great athlete, you know, did soccer, tennis, cross country, sprinting. You name it, he could do it. And one day, it was surely before I came to America, he was playing soccer. And he had a heart attack. And he was taken to the hospital and put on life support. And he was on life support for a few days. And then, there was no improvement, and there was going to be no improvement. So they took him off life support. And he passed away, age 17. I was a second funeral I went to. And both times, it was full of kids. It was just full of young people. And that was the third big step that I took back from God. I mentioned earlier, there were only around three or four of us in my grade at school that were Christians. And Dylan was one of them. So again, I'm questioning God, how could he let that happen to one of his own?

And in the grand scheme of it, you know, those three big steps back, I'm still pretty close to God. And it wasn't necessarily those big things that ultimately created the most distance. But it was the little things. It was the job you wanted, but didn't get. It was the test you studied for, but still failed. It was the friendship that ended. It was the relationship where you weren't treated right. It was the prayer you kept praying, but it never got answered. It was seeing other people get the things that you thought you deserved. And then each time something like this would happen, I would take a step back, and then one day I'll look up and I realize I'm all the way back here. And I didn't consciously decide I'm walking away from God. But somewhere along the way, and somewhere in my heart, I started believing that life would be the same whether or not I had a relationship with him. And I don't know if it was being 4,000 miles from home or just being surrounded by believers, or there's just something in the air in North Carolina, but something made me step foot through those doors over there, Ignite Church, not the fire station. And I went to their Sunday service. And during their closing song, I was just overcome with guilt. And I went over to a lovely lady on the prayer team who is here today. Sare.

And she took me through to one of the rooms. And I was telling her about the skill. I said, I feel like a bad Christian. I'm praying, but not expectant for the Lord's presence. I am asking him for things, but not believing that he can really do it. And I am talking to him, but I never stick around to listen when I'm done. And you told me, you said, you are here now. And I had taken the biggest step of all that day. And that was towards him to sit at his feet. And we think the things that pull us away from God have to be these big, life-altering moments. But sometimes it's just life. And life is going to happen regardless of whether or not you know Jesus. But the difference for me was that he was no longer someone I took a step back from in those moments. But when those things happened, I was pushed towards him. And I drew strength from him and peace. And instead of asking, God, why are you doing this to me? It was, God, I don't know why this happened, but how can you use me? I don't understand this, but I know that you're with me. And that's what it's not over means for me, is that whenever something feels like the end, no matter how small, no matter if it's one of those big steps or those little steps, but God is still there. And he is waiting with open arms. And he hadn't forgotten me.

He's still loved me. He was there for me yesterday. He was there for me the whole time. He's there for me right now. He will be there for me tomorrow for the rest of my life. And he is there waiting for me in heaven. That diagnosis might still be there. That door might still be closed. That person might still be gone. That relationship might still end. That prayer might still seem unanswered, but I don't have to walk through it alone. Philippians 4.13, I can do all things through him who gives me strength. Satan did not give me my faith, so he could not take it away from me. And in those moments where I took all those little steps away from him, not once did he take a step away from me. Not once did he move. He stayed right where he was and he was waiting for me. So I challenge you all to take a step towards him until you are sat at his feet. Thank you. (audience applauds) Thank you for watching our broadcast. Are you an incarcerated brother or sister who needs encouragement? Write to us at Victorious Living Correspondents P.O. Box 2751 Greenville, North Carolina, 27836.

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