Simple Statements + Needing Jesus

Source: Chris Lawton; unsplash.com

I have so much to do this week. I just made a note on my phone mapping out everything that needs to get done before my church's annual Christmas Festival this upcoming weekend, and there's a lot. I'm decently overwhelmed to say the least. The person in that picture is encapsulating how I feel when I look towards this upcoming week. Also I feel like Matt Maher's Lord I Need You is my current life anthem.

Thinking about my busy week has reminded me of the Martin Luther quote:

"I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer."

To emphasize this, in church this morning my pastor was talking about how important it is to him to start his day in communion with God before his feet even hit the floor.

I've heard people say that before, but today I was hit anew with how much I need Jesus. 

Why am I telling you all of this? Because this morning when one of my friends made a simple statement that I seem like someone who's always on top of my homework, someone who starts their assignments well ahead of time, I started thinking...

Do I come across as someone who has it together all the time?

Because I'm definitely not, and I definitely don't. I used to want people to think that I had it together and I knew what I was doing all the time, but fourth year and adulthood is teaching me that that's unrealistic and simply not true!

I was talking with another friend the other day and he made a comment about the reason why he spends so much time reading his Bible and praying isn't because he wants to appear "holier than others" or anything, but it's simply because he just really needs Jesus. 

And again, it was a simple statement, but it really hit home. I need Jesus. I need grace. I need strength. All the time. If you ever feel like I seem capable of one thing, good at something else, or at peace in the midst of the craziness and storms of life, just know that it's all because of Jesus.

I'm pretty much a ball of anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and insecurity at all times. And you know what? I'm beginning to realize that that's okay! My weakness is more of a testimony to others than my pretend wholeness could ever be.

And also because Jesus is greater than my anxiety, uncertainty, fear, and insecurity.

And I really need Jesus. We all do. And we know that He's always ready and willing to walk alongside us and provide shelter in the time of the storm.

"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrew 4:16)