Casting Crowns, a well known Christian band, has released some of my favorite christian music. One of their songs in particular stands out to me. And to make it even more narrow, it's just one line in the song that really stuck with me and had me asking and wondering about the gospel. This song I am talking about is "One Awkward Moment" and it is about sharing the gospel to people. They sing about how God uses our pain and our past to highlight His grace and beauty. And there's one line that, ever since last summer, has stuck with me. "One awkward moment, you'll see the gospel come alive." This is in reference to watching God, in a moment, completely change the heart of the person you are talking to, through the power of the gospel. This line forced me to ask some questions. Have I ever seen the gospel come alive? Have I, myself, really experienced the amazing benefits of Christ? What is it like to see the gospel come alive?
Well, I can tell you this... when you do see the gospel come alive, your life is never the same afterwards. And it's not a one time thing. The gospel isn't just for the lost, it's for saved Christians. We need the gospel, it is our life blood. And the more we see the gospel come alive, whether in our personal lives or through evangelism, it always pushes us closer to Christ.
My personal experience I have of seeing the gospel come alive happened sometime late February of this year (2020). This was probably when my anxiety had really reached an all time high and I was projecting all of my fears and worry onto my relationship and I didn't know if I could continue. I was trying so desperately to control my relationship and make it exactly how I wanted it to be. And that left me utterly helpless and broken. It got to the point where I literally didn't have the will to scrape myself off of my bedroom floor because I just didn't know how to go through my day. And it was in those excruciating moments, and through some really great counseling from my mom, that I really saw the gospel come alive in my heart.
Before then, I don't really think I could describe to an individual what it was like to be in Christ. I had a few cool experiences but nothing that really showed the true power of the gospel. But after going through probably the hardest couple of days in my life I can fully encapsulate the beauty of the gospel; I not only knew the gospel, but I also witnessed it change my life in front of me.
I have never tasted freedom so sweet before. I have never experienced a deliverance so sure. It took a lot of prayer and Bible reading to finally understand something that had been staring me in the face ever since I could comprehend the gospel. I don't have to sin...
This was a revolutionary thing to me. I can choose to not fear. I can choose to not worry. I can choose to not sin because Christ empowers me to do so. And it was that simple understanding of the gospel that allowed me to pull myself off the floor, drive to Anna's door, and ask for forgiveness. I had let myself get to that point. It wasn't an unfair trial pushed on me by a mean God. By God's mighty providence He allowed me to walk into that situation on my own, so He could display to me the true power of His gospel. The only gospel.
The gross wickedness of some trials in our lives can truly reveal the everlasting beauty of Christ through the gospel. I can for sure say that ever since tasting freedom from Christ there is no looking back. I sometimes wonder how anyone can make it through this life without the gospel, because without it I would not be able to bear the weight of this world. God is so good! And I hope that you will be able to experience the freedom of Christ's gospel!
Thanks for reading :)
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. - Hebrews 4:12