"Who do
you say I am?" Mark 8:29
The last few months have
reminded me of this conversation between Jesus and Peter as my own heart has
heard echoes of, “Who do you say I am?” As I’ve processed and healed and begun to
move on, Jesus has gently asked me to revisit who He is—a process that will
never end this side of heaven. The
initial confusion and sadness has been an opportunity to restore the joy of my
salvation—it has drawn me to Him. He
uses hard things to remind us of His character and call us to rely on it. I can
say I believe that He is my strength, my peace—but those are hollow until they’re
all you have to hold on to. This year has been one marked by change in my
circumstances, my habits, my community. Many nights I’ve fallen asleep praying
for Jesus to be my fortress, my clarity, my defender—the way only He can. He
has never failed. He’s reminded me that he is my hope, He alone is the Author and Perfector of my faith, the Keeper of my Soul. He alone knows my heart. He alone. Though none go with me. He has faithfully uprooted lies, ended harmful thought patterns, and restored dreams. His grace reminds me I’m a work in progress, yet ultimately it is finished. His grace frees me to admit my faults, to look back and repent. His grace beckons me to forgive, to move on, to trust that he leads me beside green pastures and still waters.
I don’t know what hard things you’re going through today. I don’t know where you feel pressed, almost crushed, persecuted and almost abandoned, struck down seemingly destroyed (2 Corinthians 4:8)—but I know that he meets you there. He was pressed, crushed, persecuted, abandoned, his body was destroyed—for you. When in trials it feels like “none go with you”—remember, He has. He knows. His grace has brought you safe thus far, His grace will lead you home.
