My Jesus

Wow. Words cannot truly articulate the journey the Lord has taken me on these past 7 weeks as I put my writing pen down for a season to refocus and posture my heart in obedience. 

There has been immense freedom as I experienced such personal and profound depth of unconditional love and watched God perform miracles I honestly didn’t know were even possible. From all this, there are countless lessons and stories to come. 

Although, this time and space also evoked grief and pain as I faced some of life’s darkest valleys, as well as ached for the suffering and injustice of those around me. 

Still, amidst the elation and questions, anger and awe, one thing is for certain: God has remained so faithful. So rather than focusing on the healing or gifts today, I am here to tell you about The Healer and Life Giver: My Jesus.

There are numerous places in scripture we could turn to discover WHO Jesus is, but John 3:16 continues to stand out in particular. 

I know it’s commonly rehearsed and on t-shirts and the like. But even if you’ve read or heard or seen this verse a thousand times, I want you to stop and slow down. Take time to really soak it in. 

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son (Jesus), that whoever believes in Him will not die but have eternal life.”

Did you catch that? God loved us so much that He gave us the gift of Jesus. To go from the perfection and magnificence of Heave to be born as a baby into our broken world. Hence the reason we celebrate Christmas to begin with.

But He did not stop there. 

Jesus walked the earth just like you and I for 33 years! Still He did not sin and then showed us the greatest act of love by dying the death we deserved to paying the price of our sins, so we could be forgiven and have eternal life with Him.

So,take heart in knowing no matter what situation you may find yourself facing this very moment, no matter the prognosis or shattered relationship, the balance in the bank account or the depth of your loneliness, there is hope. For when we follow Him, this world is not the end. 

Nothing you have done, or think, or feel scares Him. I promise.

Rather, He offers quite the opposite. He desires a real and raw RELATIONSHIP with us. 

It can be so tempting to hide behind our walls and fears, even the idea of “spirituality” and saying the right things to please others or God.

But my eyes are being opened to see that it is in the messy and raw breaking within ourselves, one another and especially God that invites true healing. 

He doesn’t just want lip service.

He longs for ALL of our hearts.

So as we draw closer to Christmas and wrapping up 2021, I pray that we will take the opportunity to stop and be real. To not just say we are “okay” or attend a church service simply to check a box so we “feel better”. But may we run into His arms by bringing all we are to the foot of the cross. 

Life won’t always be easy and the growing and molding can be painful.  Although, I can attest that personally encountering and walking with my Jesus has changed everything. Will you join me? 

If you have prayer requests, questions, or would like to connect with me further, please comment below or email me at contact@alishascroggins.com!

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year Everyone!