“You never let go, through the calm and through the storm. Oh no, You never let go, in every high and every low. Lord, you never let go of me” –You Never Let Go Matt Redman
This lyric really hit me last night. I am so used to Jesus being my refuge and my strength when I’m weak and struggling because that is what life with a chronic illness is. It’s an ongoing, daily struggle. I’m so used to Jesus being someone to lean on, but I have to remember that he is my friend too. It’s so important to realize His presence and His importance in the routine, in the average day too. Even on days that are going better than usual. He is always at work in my life, whether I acknowledge it or not. He waits to hear from me, he desires conversation with me.
There might be an unconscious thought in the back of my mind that, just as a doctor would dismiss a patient once treatment is complete or like a firefighter leaves the seen once the fire is put out, that Jesus leaves when we don’t desperately need him.
It’s amazing that this isn’t the case, because he is God and some would assume that only urgent matters can be tended to by him.
How cool is it that Jesus wants a relationship with me and with you? He wants to be my friend; he wants to be yours too.
“I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead, I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you.” John 15:15
He isn’t just here through a crisis in our lives. He doesn’t just show up to earn “brownie points”, a pat on the back or praise from others, like some people do. Humans are flawed, and at times, have flawed intentions. Jesus’ intentions are pure.
He empathizes with our brokenness, because he knows pain, and he knows it well. He is even more comforting than the type of friend who sits next to you in silence when you’re not okay and who cries with you when you’re brokenhearted. He is with you. He cries with you too. His heart is full of love and compassion for you.
He is here during the calm as well. Not only can he pick us up when we’re hurting, but he is a wonderful companion too. He is with us on our drive to work, as we eat a meal with our family, as we go to sleep at night. Through the exciting, the excruciating, the challenging and the mundane, He is HERE.
“Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6
He brings peace to the stress in my life, he brings joy to me that stays regardless of what is happening to me or around me. He brings comfort that is so pure, so much better and much deeper than any person or thing can give to me. This kind of peace, joy and comfort is resilient. It doesn’t change when the environment does because He lives in me and he is constant.
“Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
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