HERE (Kari Jobe)

Everywhere we turn it seems people are overwhelmed by life, anxious about the unforeseen future, and struggling to find peace in the midst of the storm.

They are burdened by more questions than answers and fail to understand why life can be so hard at times. It seems they cannot see the forest through the trees and lose sight of perhaps one of the greatest promises Jesus offers. 

"Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28–30).

In many cases, the trials we face are exhausting and demoralizing, causing us to lose all hope for a brighter tomorrow and all confidence God hears our cries. Sometimes we struggle seeing God's hand at work when our circumstances become progressively worse, and wonder why He would allow such things to happen.

Unfortunately, Satan thrives upon seasons of trial and tempts us to question (like Eve) whether God is sovereign in the midst of our pain. For example, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28).

Now Satan would have us believe God's goodness promises a lack of hardship or suffering, to tempt us into placing unrealistic expectations on God. However, properly understood, the "good" in this verse pertains to the process of sanctification through which the Holy Spirit aligns our personal will with Christ to the glory of God the Father. In other words, Romans 8:28 is not an exemption from trials, but a dose of perspective affirming the purpose of trials for our ultimate good. 

"For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure" (Philippians 2:13).

The path of sanctification often passes through the valley of suffering, much to our dismay, in order to refine our character and mold us into the image of Christ through the testing of our faith. Therefore, "In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ" (1 Peter 1:6–7).

LYRICS: "Come and rest here. Come and lay your burdens down. Come and rest here. There is refuge for you now."

The beauty of "Here," by Kari Jobe, is that it transforms Matthew 11:28–30 into an easy to remember song. The lyrics are simple but rich with practical application regarding how we cast off stress, anxiety and fear for a much lighter yoke Jesus promises.

It is an interesting paradox to relinquish one burden for another, but that is exactly what we're instructed to do. What we must recognize is while our salvation is made possible through God's unconditional love for us, it is conditional in that we must accept God's grace through faith alone to receive salvation and follow His commands.

"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith" (1 John 5:3–4).

God does not want to shackle us under the weight of duty. He merely wants to free us from the personal yoke we have burdened ourselves with, which brings nothing more than hopelessness, unmet expectations, and oppression. 

"But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:17–18).

Victory in Jesus compels us to do good works in thanksgiving for the infinite blessings God bestows on us. It gives us eternal perspective and shifts our focus off momentary suffering. That is why laying our burdens down at the foot of the cross is such a powerful picture.

Think about it. The primary symbol of Christianity is the location we're called to relinquish our doubts, fears, insecurities and anxiety. Therefore, if Christ died on the cross of Calvary to set us free from sin for eternity, we too can die to our oppressive patterns of thinking which aim to steal the joy of our salvation.

"So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed" (John 8:36).

LYRICS: "You'll find His peace and know you're not alone anymore. He is near. You'll find His healing, your heart isn't shattered anymore. He is here."

The primary tactic Satan uses to accomplish his destructive work is isolation, for he knows we are vulnerable to attack when separated from community. That is why Jesus taught, "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing" (Luke 15:4–5).

We cannot under-estimate our enemy in any way, for he patiently lies in wait like a hungry lion, calculating the perfect opportunity to strike and submit his prey unto death.

"Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" (1 Peter 5:8).

The sad fact is we choose to isolate ourselves by assuming no one can relate to our trials and temptations. Consequently, we transform our fears and insecurities into idols which we cling to, not because they benefit us in any way, but rather for their familiarity.

In moments of crisis we crave anything tangible to grasp hold of (even false hope), but in doing so we fail to recognize Jesus standing with arms outstretched, longing to pull us out of the pit we have dug for ourselves. However, we would rather sulk in the valley of despair than allow our spirit to be rescued. Why?

Paul wrote, "No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it. Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry" (1 Corinthians 10:13–14).

The moment we realize how near the Lord is to us in our hour of need, the quicker we will find peace in the midst of the storm and healing for our troubled hearts and minds.

LYRICS: "Breathe in, breathe out. You will, you will find Him here."

It seems common-sense, but how many of us truly stop in the midst of our pain and suffering, fatigue and exhaustion, stress and frustration, and BREATHE? When we breathe, we begin to slow our mind, still our heart, and quiet our spirit. What this does is allow us to quiet the noise around us in order to hear the still, small voice of the Lord whispering words of comfort in our time of need.

Often times, we expect God to reveal Himself in mighty ways (1 Kings 19:11-13). But until we intentionally stop, quiet ourselves, and breathe, we will fail to recognize His voice calling our name. When Jesus calmed the storm in Mark 4:35-41, His disciples were paralyzed with fear. They were hysterical and astonished Jesus could be sleeping in the midst of a torrential swell determined to capsize their boat.

"And a great windstorm arose, and the waves were breaking into the boat, so that the boat was already filling. But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion. And they woke him and said to him, 'Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?' And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, 'Peace! Be still!' And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. He said to them, 'Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?'" (Mark 4:37–40).

What stands out in this scene is the disciples' reaction in the moment and bold accusation against Jesus. In retrospect, I wonder if we recognize ourselves in the disciples' audacity. For in one way or another, we have all cried out in moments of desperation, "Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?"

However, do we recognize doubt has overcome our minds when we react similarly? Have we forgotten when Jesus said, "Peace! Be still!", the wind immediately ceased and a great calm ensued?

In retrospect, Jesus taught His disciples a powerful lesson that day and we are wise to learn from their mistake and trust in Him no matter the trials we find ourselves in. It all comes down to simply breathing in the righteousness of Christ and breathing out our fleshly fears and insecurities which plague us.

LYRICS: "I will rest in You."

Notice in Matthew 11:28–30, Jesus says, "I will give you rest," and "You will find rest." It might not seem like much, but the differences are profound. Just like salvation where grace is freely given, Jesus gives rest to those who come to Him labored and heavy laden. The key is in the intended "therefore" which follows. Therefore, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart."

What Jesus meant is that the eternal rest He freely gives enables us to trade our yoke of slavery to our flesh for His yoke of righteousness, which is easy and light in comparison to the stronghold we once were held captive to.

Therefore, in order to find rest we must receive the Lord's promise, trade our sorrows for His yoke of freedom, and embrace new life in Christ. Granted, that does guarantee physical or emotional suffering will cease during trials, but it does provide spiritual peace in the midst of the storm.

Psalm 23 reminds us, "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake" (Psalm 23:1–3).

What King David modeled is the same exercise we must adopt in order to quiet our souls and trust in the Lord's sufficiency. In other words, David preached the Gospel to himself in order to prepare his heart and mind to continually trust in God despite his trials.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me" (Psalm 23:4).

Peace which transcends all understanding comes only when we embrace our trials with joy by relinquishing control and self-preservation. Only then will we truly experience how submission and obedience to the Lord is the purest form of freedom we will ever taste in our lives.

LYRICS: "You will find Him, you will find Him here."

Paul wrote, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:4–7).

According to the ESV Study Bible:

"The joy that Paul calls for is not a happiness that depends on circumstances but a deep contentment that is in the Lord, based on trust in the sovereign, living God, and that therefore is available always, even in difficult times."

Henceforth, we can cast off all anxiety and rejoice even in the midst of the trial because we are content in the Lord's sufficiency. Such newfound perspective empowers us to live counter-culture and respond to trials in a way that seems illogical from a secular perspective.

"Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness" (James 1:2–3).

More importantly, it assures us God is present in our lives at all times despite any circumstance we find ourselves in. Scripture affirms, "The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The LORD is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?" (Psalm 27:1).

May we always remember God is never outside the scope of our trials. He is rather standing beside us in the eye of the storm, bringing peace to our troubled minds and comforting our broken hearts.

Therefore, we can humbly proclaim in our hour of need, "We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed" (2 Corinthians 4:8–9), because the Lord our God is forever with us, refining our faith, character and countenance through the fire of trials for His glory.