I was wrapping up my grocery shopping trip at our local food co-op a few weeks ago and the cashier, who I hadn’t seen in awhile, asked me how I was doing. I replied, “Really good!” And with a rather astonished look she said, “Really?!” “Yes!” I replied sincerely, “We are doing really well.” The look on her face spoke of her surprise and as I processed the emotions that crossed her face, I think I understood why. I mean, it was the end of 2020 - one of the most challenging years for so many, yet here I was - a musicians’ wife, stay-at-home-mom with young kids saying that our life was so good and we were doing really well. I think her surprise came from a deep understanding that for many this has not been a season of doing well.
As I drove home her surprise stuck with me. I thought through the why behind my answer. Why are we doing so well? Why is life truly and wonderfully good? The answer undoubtedly is Jesus. Every time. The answer is Jesus. He is why we are good. He is our peace, our provision, our joy.
I know it probably sounds cliche, because, honestly, there are a lot of cliches out there - especially when it comes to Christianity. But this isn’t a post about Christianity or religion. This is a post about Jesus - radical, grace-giving, healing, joy-giving Jesus. You see, this past year was a year where I fell deeply in love with Jesus - more than ever before. Even though I’ve followed him and loved him as long as I can remember, this year I started seeking him in a way that I had never done before and I’m telling you because the way he is working in me, growing me, and changing me is radical. His love is radical. Scandalous, really.
It started with a pandemic. It started as I watched fear rise up all around me and within me. It started as I said no to that fear and instead fixed my eyes on Jesus and asked him daily, multiple times per day, to help me see truth, know truth, and speak truth. Every news report. Every status update. Every post. Every conversation. See truth, know truth, speak truth. The words flowed off my tongue for weeks, months. They became my mantra for 2020 in many ways.
Through this, the Bible verse that kept coming to my mind was John 12:14 (TPT) in which Jesus tells his disciples, his friends, his followers, “I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles I do — even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father!” Wait a minute. He said those who believe in him would do GREATER THINGS THAN HE HAS DONE! This is the man who healed the lame, the sick, the blind. He calmed storms. He fed multitudes with a few measly fish and loaves of bread. He turned water into wine - and not just any wine, the BEST wine. Greater things than that??? And here I was sitting in my home battling fear in a city that was rather locked down due to fear of sickness, surrounded by unrest, and I was asking to see truth and know truth. “Greater things,” he said. He healed the sick. “Greater things,” he said. He healed broken hearts. “Greater things,” he said. He restored lives. “Greater things,” he said.
“Ok, Father. I see your truth. I believe your truth. But what do I do with this truth?” I asked.
The answer has come slowly. It came through deep conversations on our deck with dear friends who were hearing the same truths. Friends who were seeking Jesus through this strange and challenging year. It came through watching fear and division continue to take hold of our families, our communities, our nation, our world. It came in the gentle, consistent voice of a God who loves his people and wants to restore them to him.
“Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV).
Rest for your souls. Isn’t that what so many of us needed in 2020? Rest for our souls. It was a heavy year where so many of us carried heavy burdens. Burdens of sickness. Burdens of job loss. Burdens of loneliness. Burdens of confusion. Yet, he said, come to me. Let me take that from you. Let me carry that burden. Let me carry YOU. And when you do, when you walk with me, when you believe in me and let my Spirit reside in you, you will do GREATER things than I have done. Take that rest that I give you and let my joy pour out of you.
I don’t have the answers for how we fix our society. I don’t know how we solve this mess of COVID that we find ourselves in. But I do know that Jesus heals heavy hearts. He gives peace. He gives joy. He gives love. And he gives them lavishly and with abandon. In John 10:10 (ESV) Jesus says, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.” 2020 stole a lot from us. We will see the effects of its’ destruction for years to come. Yet, in spite of that, Jesus says I have come that they may have LIFE. In the Passion translation it says, “But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect - life in its fullness until you overflow!”
This is why I was able to say to the cashier at the co-op, “Yes! I am well. Yes, we are good.” It is because I found rest in him this past year. I found peace in him. I found joy in him. I found abundance in him. He provided for our needs - physically, financially, emotionally, relationally. He gave us life abundantly.
Friend, he longs to do the same for you. Seek him. He’s not hard to find, truly. He’s waiting. He loves you so.
I want to end this post with a blessing on you, dear reader. May the Lord of Heaven and Earth bless you today with the knowledge of his passionate love. May his brilliant light shine on you. May you feel his presence within and around you. May you experience his peace. In the name of Jesus, may you be healthy and whole.
You are loved, friend. So very loved.