22 Jan
The Greatest Thing I’ve Ever Learned
It constantly amazes me how many times I can be told something and still not get it. I think most everyone has experienced this at some point or another. Whether as a child it was my mother telling me to pick up my socks or now my wife suggesting that I iron my shirt before I wear it, all of us know what it’s like to hear something again and again and yet it never sinks in.
This also seems to happen to me when it comes to spiritual matters. In fact, there is one particular lesson that I always seem to be re-learning – the lesson of total dependence on Christ.
I remember the first time I heard this concept was on a fishing trip in south Texas with my pastor. He said, “Andrew, Jesus is all you need for life. If you have him, you have everything you need.” Seems simple, right? But I kept wondering—what does that look like? How can that be a reality in my life?
It wasn’t until my first semester of college that I began to realize what he was talking about on that fishing trip. It was the first time I had to pay for my car, pay for an apartment, pay for tuition, and keep myself disciplined to study and it almost drove me insane.
I couldn’t believe the amount of responsibility that was on my shoulders. I remember nearly breaking down one night and thinking that if I had to even look at one more book, I’d take my entire library and burn it! I recalled my pastor’s words and decided to take a step of faith and try out this “Let Jesus do it” thing. I didn’t know exactly what to do but I remember crying out to Jesus and just asking for his help. I wanted to see Him become strong in my weakness. In a way that I can’t explain a wave of comfort and security swept over me. It was something I had never experienced before.
After getting married while still a college student, I can’t tell you how many times that same kind of a thing happened over and over again. When my wife and I had a physical or spiritual need and asked Jesus to be there for us, to be sufficient for our lives, he was.
I sit here this morning facing another situation where I have to trust this simple but powerful truth. My wife and I are expecting our first child in about four months. The daunting prospect of having to care and provide for a little baby seems to sometimes overcome me with fear and anxiety. I once again have to cry out to Jesus for help. I find myself at work just thinking about this baby and trying to think how in the world I can be a good father when I seem to be still learning and growing myself. Yet, I can look to the past examples of Jesus’ faithfulness in my life and I can look to Scripture and understand that Jesus is very near. If I will only lean on him, He’ll take care of me. It’s like the song that says “I’m not holding on to Jesus; He’s holding on to me.”
Jesus, take care of me again!
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About the Author
Andrew Hebert is a student at Criswell College. He enjoys reading, eating Mexican food, watching the Houston Astros, and listening to any kind of music. He and his wife, Amy, reside in Dallas and are expecting their first child in June.
