I Have Experienced Jesus

"waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,"  Titus 2:13 

I recently heard a phrase that struck a chord within me:

You believe in things you experience.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized why I believe in Jesus.

I believe in Him because I have experienced Him.

Several years ago, someone I was very close to sent me an email denouncing Jesus and Christianity.

In the email, they listed all the reasons they no longer believed. They wrote about errors they believed they had discovered within Christianity—from the use of the word God to arguments that the Messiah's name was not Jesus. The email was filled with claims and conclusions that challenged everything they had once believed.

I was stunned.

This was someone I admired. Someone whose opinions and viewpoints I valued. Someone who had once believed in and served the very God they were now rejecting.

I didn't know what to do with the information they shared, so I sat with the letter for weeks.

I read and reread it, thinking I must have missed the line that said, "Gotcha!" or "Just kidding."

I even forwarded it to my husband, hoping he would tell me I had misunderstood the email and somehow restore order to the situation.

But he read it and understood it exactly as I had.

I was confused, so I prayed.

"Lord, You know the email I received and every line that was written. If I am doing anything or calling You by any name that dishonors You, please reveal it to me. I want to do Your will. I want to please You."

About a month later, I received a second email.

It stated that since I had not responded to the first message, they assumed I was not receptive to the information they had shared.

Then came a line that hurt deeply:

"I am not upset that we will no longer have a relationship. I am sorry that you won't accept the truth and will perish."

Normally, I am emotional. I expected tears.

But none came.

Confusion turned into anger.

I had believed in Jesus since my youth, and they expected me to abandon the Savior I had known all my life after reading an email and waiting a month.

I was angry—but not for the reasons one might think.

You see, I have experienced Jesus.

I have experienced Him as Savior.

I have experienced His power.

I have experienced Him as a miracle worker, protector, provider, and sustainer.

I have experienced Him as a shield from danger, a burden bearer, a heavy-load carrier, a strong tower, my defense, my healer, my everything!

So I don't just know about Jesus.

I have experienced Him.

I have experienced His goodness.

His mercy.

His unfailing love.

His faithfulness.

His might.

His sovereignty.

I don't simply know who He is.

I know what He has done.

I know how He has carried me.
I know how He has comforted me.
I know how He has provided for me.
I know how He has spoken to me through His Word.
I know how He has transformed me.

I know because I have experienced Him.

The letter spoke of oppressors, deception, and people twisting Scripture.

And I am not naïve. Throughout history, people have misused God's Word for their own purposes. Human beings have often distorted what God intended.

But none of that changes what I know to be true.

Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world.

He saved me.

He changed me.

He has walked with me through victories and valleys, through joy and heartbreak, through certainty and confusion.

He has been faithful every step of the way.

That is why I still believe.

Not because someone told me to.
Not because I grew up in church.
Not because I have all the answers.

I believe because I have experienced Him.

And oh, what an experience it has been.

I don't just know Jesus.

I have experienced Him.

Have you?