Ryan on Faith, Gratitude and Finding Courage in Joshua 1:9
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ALTON - On a recent episode of “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust, Ryan Sautman spoke about making mistakes and finding God.
Sautman shared that he often comes up short, but God’s grace helps him confront his mistakes and find his way back to the Lord. He knows it’s impossible to be perfect, but he believes we should all try to follow the Bible’s teachings and emulate Jesus as much as possible.
“We are trying to become more Christlike,” Sautman said. “At the end of the day, we as Christians, that’s our ultimate goal. We will never be sinless. We will never be perfect like He was. But our goal is to get closer and closer and closer, if we can, every single day, get 1% closer.”
As a business owner and the primary breadwinner for his wife and four children, Sautman said the “weight” of these responsibilities can be overwhelming at times. Like a lot of people, he worries about his financial future.
But he recently realized that God will protect him through whatever challenges he faces. As long as he has his faith and his family, he believes everything will be okay.
“I was just stressing about the income coming in, this house that we’re struggling to make payments on or whatever, and savings are just getting further and further and further down to nothing, you know? But at the end of the day, I have God, I have my wife, and I have my children,” Sautman said. “If we lose it all, I have everything I need. It literally does not matter when I have God, my wife and my children. Those are literally the only things I need in my life.”
Even when going through tough times, Sautman has found that God is looking out for him. He said he’s “always faithful” even when he’s struggling, and he soon realizes that “God’s got it.” These moments remind him to have faith in God and trust that He will protect Sautman and his family.
This is why Joshua 1:9 — “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” — resonates so strongly. Sautman believes Joshua was likely “terrified” when Moses spoke these words to him, and it reassures Sautman that he doesn’t have to go through anything alone. He often turns to his Bible as a source of comfort.
“It is unbelievable, the amount of stress that goes away in life when you just open up the Bible and start reading,” he said. “I personally have struggled with, what is God telling me to do? I would love to be able to say that I audibly heard God speaking to me to tell me the direction I need to go. A lot of times, it doesn’t happen that way. But God has given us this amazing thing called the Bible that tells us it’s His words. It is amazing that this book that is this old still holds to today. God knew what He was putting into this Bible and what He was telling these guys to write down.”
As Sautman continues his faith journey, he is studying the Bible and working to build his relationship with God. He encourages others who want that relationship to read the Bible, confess their sins, and trust in God in both the good times and bad.
“God has just always been there,” he added. “I just love talking about God and all the things that He’s done for us and done for me and my family. The more I can talk about it, the better. More recently, these last few years, I have been diving into the Bible more than I ever have, and the words just came to life to me more than they ever have. It’s fascinating. I absolutely love it.”
Watch or listen to “You’re Beautiful” with Brian Trust at 2 p.m. on Thursdays at RiverBender.com/Beautiful.
