1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
We can spend our whole lives trying to find that peace, described in Philippians 4 as peace that passes understanding. We are promised peace, but the cares of this life can steal our peace and our joy. We can become overwhelmed by sorrow, and some, even though they know Jesus, will end their lives - on earth. We need to see hope and recognize that promise that is on the other side of the difficulties that we are facing; and we can stand with those who need to see that hope and experience it for themselves.
For the believer in Christ, we know that our death on earth is not the final chapter and that our passing may have eternal significance. In John 12, we see these verses:
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
In September, Jarrid Wilson, associate pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA, where Faith Radio programmer Greg Laurie is the senior pastor, took his own life. He and his wife Juli, according to a Faithwire story, had launched a ministry back in 2016 called Anthem of Hope...
Jarrid may have lost his battle with mental illness here on earth, but that perceived loss can be turned to victory. God uses our struggles and crises to bring glory to Himself. His ministry can grow and flourish even through his death - ultimately, it's not a setback, but an opportunity. He died, but the God-inspired idea and ministry did not. We can consider and rejoice in the things that last. Death may have claimed Jarrid, but he is alive today with Jesus and perhaps you could say he is cheering from the sidelines. Meanwhile, his wife and those who loved him and continue to love him are picking up the baton. In the midst of what may seem like failure, we can take hold of Christ - and in the Church, of one another.
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For the believer in Christ, we know that our death on earth is not the final chapter and that our passing may have eternal significance. In John 12, we see these verses:
23 But Jesus answered them, saying, "The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified.
24 Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain.
25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
26 If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.
In September, Jarrid Wilson, associate pastor of Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside, CA, where Faith Radio programmer Greg Laurie is the senior pastor, took his own life. He and his wife Juli, according to a Faithwire story, had launched a ministry back in 2016 called Anthem of Hope...
...“with a passion devoted to help equip the church with the resources needed to help better assist those struggling with depression, anxiety, self-harm, addiction, and suicide,” according to the nonprofit’s website.The article notes that Wilson had been "outspoken" about his own mental health issues, linking to an earlier Faithwire story from August, which related how Wilson had come to Christ in 2007 and had heard the gospel several years earlier at a Harvest Crusade in Southern California. He is quoted as saying:
“If someone like me, who was contemplating suicide, thought I had no purpose in this world, thought I was just a piece of trash, could encounter the love of God and be used in a mighty way, if someone like Paul who was once persecuting Christians could be used in a mighty way,” Wilson said, “that’s what fuels me, is letting people know, ‘You’re never too far gone for the love of God.’”His life was devoted to helping people discover hope, and his wife, Juli is carrying on the mission of Anthem of Hope - she spoke at a church for the first time last week, a church pastored by one of the last persons who personally heard from Jarrid before he took his life. Faithwire reports that Adam Weber, pastor of Embrace Church in Sioux Falls, SD, invited Juli to speak last Thursday night. The article says:
“We all have struggles we deal with, regardless of what our calling is or what we do for a living,” Juli explained, noting there’s a “stigma” around pastors admitting they struggle with their mental health. “Just because you deal with depression or anxiety doesn’t mean you have a lack of faith and that you can’t be a solid believer and have everything in your heart right and your head can still have some issues.”She stated, "What better place to start than the last place Jarrid looked to for hope, and that’s what we’re gonna do,” adding, “we’re gonna go share some hope.”
The article quotes Weber:
“When it comes to people talking about [mental health] early, Jarrid and Juli led the way. They’ve been talking about this for years, and in many ways, were kind of a lone voice in actually talking about it. I feel in many ways like I’m really late to the conversation, yet, thankfully, with God, we’re never too late to begin having conversations.”The Faithwire article continues by stating:
Both Adam and Juli said it’s important for these conversations to take place because it’s a sign to those struggling with mental health that they “are not alone” in their fight. It’s also a chance, the Embrace pastor said, to “point people to Jesus” and “take away the stigma” of mental health treatment.
The greatest tool believers have, Juli said, is hope — it’s “clinging to what we do know instead of what we don’t know.”Juli adds:
“I’ve said this before, and I just believe it to be true: this wasn’t Jarrid’s anthem,” Juli said. “This was something he found in Scripture and took seriously and was just to help people who were down and help people who couldn’t go on anymore. That’s the heartbeat of this anthem, and I think that’s why so many people resonate with it — because it’s from Scripture and it’s what God’s called us to do. I just pray we’ll all step up as the church and not let this be another sad story, but something that catapults us to where we need to be as the body of Christ.”In life, there is disappointment and loss, but in Christ, there is hope. Sadness can be overwhelming and depression can set in and control a person's life; when someone feels trapped, he or she needs to see a way out - and that's where the body of Christ, without condemnation, can, as Juli Wilson says, "step up." And, I would add, we can step into the darkness that someone else is experiencing and help that person step into the light.
Jarrid may have lost his battle with mental illness here on earth, but that perceived loss can be turned to victory. God uses our struggles and crises to bring glory to Himself. His ministry can grow and flourish even through his death - ultimately, it's not a setback, but an opportunity. He died, but the God-inspired idea and ministry did not. We can consider and rejoice in the things that last. Death may have claimed Jarrid, but he is alive today with Jesus and perhaps you could say he is cheering from the sidelines. Meanwhile, his wife and those who loved him and continue to love him are picking up the baton. In the midst of what may seem like failure, we can take hold of Christ - and in the Church, of one another.
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