Max Lucado: You Are Never Alone

San Antonio, Texas

Loneliness

During the COVID-19 pandemic with increasing numbers of people being isolated, loneliness and depression are increasing drastically. Max began writing this book before the pandemic and realized when COVID hit, how important it was to finish it.  Based on the miracles of Jesus found in the gospel of John, You Are Never Alone shows the power of God in today’s uncertain world. Max shares stories like: Jesus healing the blind man; Jesus healing the leper; Jesus calming the storm; Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead; Jesus multiplying the loaves and fishes; Jesus dying for our sins, and Jesus rising again.

He wants us to realize that our Lord doesn’t shy away from hard times. Instead, He runs to us and is present in the middle of our storm.  Max says, “When calamity strikes, stand firm in the Lord’s sovereignty. This sovereignty gives us an inside track to peace. The hope of John, the hope of his book is that we would believe, not in our power, not in humanity’s ability to help itself, not in tarot cards or good fortune, not in good looks or good luck. But that we would believe in Jesus.”

Personal Battle

When Max was only 12 years old he went through a difficult weekend, when a man molested him and four other friends during a weekend campout. 

When he got home, Max felt filthy and shame ridden. He didn’t tell his parents. Max missed a Communion service at church that morning. So, after his parents went to bed, Max went to the kitchen. He explains, “If I ever needed Communion, it was that day. So, I staged my own Eucharist.” He could only find potatoes and milk but in the kitchen, he prayed and asked God to help him. Max explains, “Jesus met me at that moment. I know this: though the storm was severe, the Lord was near. And I learned a lesson I’ve never forgotten: Jesus comes amid the torrent.”    

Background

Max Lucado’s childhood was both idyllic and simple. Max was raised in Andrews, Texas, a town with a population smaller than the current membership of Oak Hills Church. Max’s dad was an oilfield mechanic and his mother a nurse. He spent much of his childhood chasing or being chased by his beloved brother Dee. Once Max became a teenager, rebellion kicked in. After one specific drunken night, Max began to wonder if there was more to life than parties and chasing girls. He believes now that if Jesus hadn’t changed his heart, alcoholism would have been in his future.    

During undergraduate studies at Abilene Christian University (ACU), Max grew to realize God was bigger—and better than any rebellion. Max left ACU with two degrees and a heart for telling others about God and his faithfulness. Max's first ministry assignment was as the associate pastor of a small church in Miami, Florida. In that position, he developed his passion for people, ministry, and writing. He began writing when he was assigned a column in the church’s weekly newsletter.

While in Florida Max married Denalyn, now his wife of more than three decades. Max and Denalyn moved to Rio de Janeiro in 1983 to help plant churches. During their five years in Brazil, Max continued to write, updating friends and family back home about their ministry. Eventually, Max gathered the Brazil newsletters and Florida columns into a manuscript and sent it off to fifteen publishers. After multiple rejection letters, one publisher finally said yes.