Finding comfort — ‘for this I have Jesus’

There is rarely a problem-free season in our lives. Relationships broken; illness; loss of employment; increased stress and worry about the future. But sometimes the onslaught is terrifying. The current onslaught of Covid in India and the way in which families are being decimated.

Marion Stroud (RBC Ministries) relates this heart wrenching story.

Rose saw her entire family, except for her two little daughters, slaughtered in the Rwandan Genocide of 1994.

Now she is a widow among many widows with little money. But she refuses to be defeated. She has adopted two orphans and simply trusts God to provide for the food and school fees for her family of five.

She translates Christian literature into the local language and organises an annual conference for other widows.

Rose wept as she told her story. But for every problem in her life she has one simple remedy. “For this, I have Jesus,” she says.

Songwriter Graham Kendrick wrote a song in 1994 titled For this I have Jesus. It is a moving song which covers many of the struggles people face in life. It goes like this: For the joys and for the sorrows, the best and worst of times

For this moment, for tomorrow, For all that lies behind

Fears that crowd around me, for the failure of my plans

For the dreams of all I hope to be, the truth of what I am. Chorus: For this I have Jesus. For this I have Jesus

For this I have Jesus, I have Jesus. For the tears that flow in secret, in the broken times

For the moments of elation, or the troubled mind

For all the disappointments, or the sting of old regrets

All my prayers and longings that seem unanswered yet. Chorus: For this I have Jesus. For this I have Jesus

For this I have Jesus, I have Jesus. For the weakness of my body, the burdens of each day

For the nights of doubt and worry, when sleep has fled away Needing reassurance, and the will to start again

A steely-eyed endurance, the strength to fight and win. Chorus: For this I have Jesus. For this I have Jesus

For this I have Jesus, I have Jesus.

The great British adventurer Bear Grylls admits that in his own life he can’t get by without outside strength.

He writes, “Faith is admitting that I need a helping hand in my life … someone stronger than me … I am no longer too proud to admit I need Jesus, my Saviour beside me … does that make my faith a crutch?

“Maybe! But what does a crutch do? It helps you stand and makes you stronger. Yes. When I am faced with overwhelming odds, I need that.”

God knows exactly what you are facing today. Isaiah reminds us that God’s knowledge of us is so intimate that it is as if our names were written on the palms of His hands (Isa. 49:16).

The Psalmist acknowledges that God knows our thoughts (Ps 139; 2); and Jesus says even the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Luke 12:7).

We may sometimes neglect the needs of others, even those who are closest to us, but God is aware of every detail of our lives. And He has given us His Spirit to guide, to comfort, and to strengthen us.

Why not list the challenges you face right at this moment, and then write these words beside each one as a reminder of God’s promised faithfulness and care: “For this, I have Jesus.”

Rev Lorne Campbell is minister at Hope Whanga¯rei.