Only Jesus

I'm caught up in Your presence

I just want to sit here at Your feet

I'm caught up in this holy moment

I never wanna leave

And oh, I'm not here for blessings

Jesus, You don't owe me anything

More than anything that You can do

Oh, I just want You

"Nothing Else" -Cody Carnes

Spring 2024: a semester like no other!

This past spring taught me so much, and I grew so much as both a person and as a follower of Jesus. Leaving Illinois in January and coming back to Cleveland after a month of rest and extensive time with my family and hometown buddies, I was excited and expectant for all the Lord had in store. I honestly never could have predicted or dreamt up what was to come. He did not waste any time either! Within a few weeks of being back in Tennessee, I got into my first ever car accident. Every Friday over the past year, I've gone down to the Young Life office in Chattanooga to work on ministry planning and community building as a member of Student Staff. One afternoon in late January, I had left the office for the day and was about 5 minutes into my drive back to Cleveland. I spotted a truck zooming in the left lane when he lost control and hit into the front, driver's side door and tire. Thank God I was completely unharmed! Insurance covered everything, but I didn't get my car back until early April, although I had a nice rental to get me through. I was frustrated and overwhelmed. This was only the beginning of the testing and the challenges that the Lord would present to me throughout the semester.

Some of the thoughts that were running through me head that day:

Why God? Why now? Don't you realize all the other stressors I have right now? Do you really have to add this to my plate now, too? I use this car to travel to places like North Carolina and Georgia to serve high school students at camps so they can get a clearer picture of the gospel. What if insurance won't fix this? What if...

While I don't like to over-spiritualize things, I do think God used that unfortunate accident to redirect my focus for the hardships to come over the next 3 months. I had just read The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry by John Mark Comer over winter break. In a sentence, he summarizes the Western ideal of busyness and "doing" and how it robs us of authentically living into who God calls us to be. In a word, Comer encourages his readers to "dwell." Even though the damages on my car were not extensive, it was not going to be a simple fix. I would have to wait. I would have to change some plans. I would have to slow down. I really think that is what God was telling me: "SLOW DOWN JACOB! LIFE IS TAKING YOU A MILLION DIFFERENT DIRECTIONS AND DISTRACTIONS ARE COMING AT YOU FROM ALL ANGLES. SIT WITH ME. BE PATIENT. JUST SHOW UP AND LISTEN."

Academics

As classes began, I knew this was going to be a difficult semester. I was in an overloaded class schedule and was taking more advanced classes than I had thus far. I couldn't live and study by "just in time" anymore like I had the past few semesters. I REALLY had to study. I felt like I had to read at super-speed to get all of my books read (okay I kind of did though; reading Shakespeare on 3 times speed is no small feat). My writing and critical thinking skills were stretched in new ways I never knew possible. As many people know, I spent countless hours working on editing and revising an academic paper on Richard Wright's Native Son from my junior year American literature class. This spring, I put the final touches on it and sent it off to the African American Review for hopeful journal publication. Unfortunately, my paper was rejected from the journal with this comment from the reviewers: "Without wishing to continue in this vein, it simply remains to say that the entire project must be rethought. " I was definitely disappointed at first, but as I thought more, I did some deep reflection. God has used my professors and my time at Lee University to shape me in some pretty remarkable ways. I've established some deep, meaningful friendships within the Language & Literature department. I've stepped out of my shell and am not afraid to try new things and engage in difficult conversations. I take risks in my writing and put myself in the shoes of others. I have a deep yearning to continue learning and to change my mind when I am wrong. This attempt at publication was just that: a risk that propelled my writing forward and allowed me to experience the full breadth of the writing process.

Ministry

Young Life ministry this spring was harder than it has ever been in my two years of being a leader. In many ways, I'm still processing a lot of the emotions and experiences that I had. I saw God do things I never imagined. He tore down walls and used me in ways I didn't realize at the time. The difficulties of ministry started pretty much as soon as I got to Cleveland. I had a full semester of events and talks ready to go for the spring that I had worked hard on over the extended break. However, pretty soon after getting back to town, I realized that I needed to scrap all of it. If that is not the nature of ministry (and frankly, our relationship with Jesus), I'm not sure what is. We must be flexible and let him move in the ways that He wills. As much as we would like to have everything planned out, it's not realistic. You cannot plan your way around God. This is something that I have been growing in a lot lately. A year ago, I would have tried to plan out all of the details involved in ministerial situations and planned for all the "what ifs." While I still struggle with holding onto the control, I have surrendered a lot of that back to God (who holds all of the control in the first place). Instead of stressing or worrying a lot about what happens in our local ministry, I now let myself see and experience life and God's grace in the present moment. Being present allows me to see how God works in all of the intricate details.

Expecting the Unexpected

Like control where we cannot manipulate the will or workings of God, we also cannot expect how He will work or show up in places we never imagined. I like to refer to myself as a "realistic optimist" because I have great hopes and dreams but keep them within scale of what I imagine is possible with the time, money, and resources available to me. However, God does not fit into the molds or boxes that we try to place him in. His power and might are not limited to our finite imagination. He has infinite power and endless amounts of grace to offer us. When we pray for what He wills, He shows us what is truly possible when we put our full trust and faith in him. God makes impossible things possible and the unimaginable ideas a reality. When we fail, He uses it. When we let people down, He uses it. When we want to give up, He uses it. God sent his Son to bring a gospel for all- bar none. Throughout this semester, my friend Flippo helped me see more clearly how God was using me in the lives of high school kids and how God changes our perspective of the ways He is at work in our lives. In my ministry, I've seen walls fall down that I never imagined possible. I've had conversations with people about Jesus who I thought were the most resistant. I've been truly blessed that God has allowed me to be a representation of Jesus and his love to people in need of something more!

Ecclesiastes 3

This spring I started diving deeper into reading and studying the Old Testament in my personal quiet times. In March, I started reading the book of Ecclesiastes. This was the time where I was at my lowest in the semester. My patience was tested in many ways: frustrations, severed communication lines, leadership conflicts, insecurities in my ministry, general life stress, and a presence of being overwhelmed. I began to let the words of Solomon wash over me and minister to me. My soul longed for rest. "Sabbath" was the word I chose in January to be my word of the year in 2024, but I honestly had not leaned into a biblical Sabbath of resting in God's Spirit much in the past 2 months of being utterly overwhelmed and under-supported. The first time I read chapter 3, I began to tear up. How can God's timing be so perfect?! These were the exact words I needed and they were speaking right into my current situation. It starts, "For everything there is a season [...]" speaking to me in that the struggles I was facing were not permanent just like the momentum and ease would not last forever. God knew the season I was going through, and He was there with me in the thick of it. Whatever the future would hold, there was no wasted time. Even if I could not see the visible fruits of my labor on this side of eternity, I knew that my time and intentionality was not wasted. God would use it ALL for his Glory and to further the Kingdom! Despite the struggle and the pain and the questioning, God was there with me. He held me close and comforted me. The holy words of Scripture washed over me and provided the spiritual peace and rest I so deeply longed for. God put a community around me who encouraged me and loved me. He used my family and my friends from home and in other states to check in on me and pray for me. As I recount this spring semester in its entirety, I immediately describe it as hard, challenging, difficult, and a struggle. But (ironically, as God does), I simultaneously find myself describing it as beautiful. There is immense beauty in the struggles of life: the ways the Lord meets us in the rut, the people He puts in our path, and the conversations we have along the way. There are so many lessons and areas I've grown this year in hardship and disappointments that I know I would not have learned in the monotony of everyday routine or in the simplicity of life when everything seemed fine and moving towards a positive direction. I have fully surrendered to God's will and am trusting him with everything! My prayer life has never been better. I've become much more intentional about praying for people and praying with people. I've also been more consistent in my Bible reading as I explore unfamiliar sections in the Bible and talk about what I'm learning with others. I really think the reason I'm able to have a positive perspective looking back on a difficult semester is due to the fact that I was so intentional about my faith and trusting God would see me through. He is doing a mighty work in and through me and I'm so blessed to be along for this ride called life! He never said it would be easy, but it is so worth it and way better than trying to do this all on my own and on my own strength. While results in ministry, outward success, cohesion, and many other factors are great in life and provide for decent goals, they leave you empty and unfulfilled. As this semester continued and, now, as I look ahead to the fall and beyond, I keep my focus solely on Jesus and running after him. I want my friends to know him and to see him through the way I love. I'll end this with the lyrics of a Cody Carnes song that has been on repeat lately. This is how I want to live and the way I want to devote myself to putting Jesus above EVERYTHING else! Finally, thank you for reading! Thank you for supporting me, loving me, and praying for me! God has a plan for you and created you uniquely to serve and love him!

Blessings,

Jacob Link