Reading Report: Jesus Will Meet You There

Jesus Will Meet You There, by Kristen Wetherell and Sarah Walton

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Would I re-read?

I would certainly reference this book again, but likely not read all the way through again.

Why I like the book

I appreciate this book’s honesty, vulnerability, and humility. The authors share their sin struggles with transparency. And, in my experience, when someone leads the way in sharing personal sin struggles, often others will follow. This is wonderful because Jesus is in the business of helping spiritually sick people, reforming people, and welcoming people more deeply into spiritual wholeness. That process often starts with basic recognition of sin—not with self-condemnation for that sin, but with simple confession. In the past, my thinking was shaped by the notion that I should be a “Christian example”—showing only the “best” parts of myself to others. Scripture does implore us to walk worthy of the gospel—I simply now think that worthiness of the gospel includes quick confession of failures, faults, and trespasses. So, I appreciate that this book walks humbly with the reader.

Jesus Will Meet You There is also transparent about the deep suffering that both authors have endured and are enduring. When the book discusses the ways that Jesus has been a support for the authors, I can feel that they are talking from personal experience—not only in suffering but also in their relationships with Jesus Himself. What they “preach” is what they have already received from the Lord to strengthen them in their physical, emotional, and spiritual difficulties. The book is authentic, making its call for readers to turn toward Jesus both believable and actionable.

My biggest takeaway

Author Sarah Walton includes a wise differentiation between anxiety from weakness and anxiety from unbelief (see quote below). Because I can experience anxiety from weakness and know it is a reality, I particularly resonate with this section from Walton—including the physiological causes of anxiety, the ability to have rest and peace with God even while experiencing anxiety, the weakness of the Fall in my body, the ability to lessen my experience of anxiety by degrees by acknowledging personal limitations, and even the hope that those who do not experience anxiety from weakness might take our word for it and not do further emotional damage by insisting that all anxiety is from unbelief. Maybe this will help you too or someone you know. I’ve removed a couple of helpful paragraphs simply due to length; the quote is still long because it’s worth quoting at length.

“But before we delve into the common struggle of anxiety, we need to make an important distinction: Anxiety that stems from human unbelief is not always the same as anxiety that stems from human weakness.

We live in a world broken by sin, with bodies and minds affected by that reality. I’ve seen firsthand how trauma, illnesses, and physical deficiencies can cause our bodies to respond to stimuli even when our souls know better. We may rack our brains and plead for God to reveal some hidden sin of unbelief, but sometimes, despite prayer and wise counsel, anxiety isn’t solely a spiritual issue (even though there are always spiritual dynamics at work).

[…]

But we cannot dismiss the fact that, at times, overwhelming anxiety can stem from physiological causes. It’s a genuine form of suffering. And I believe the Lord shows compassion and mercy toward those who are plagued by it.

However, weakness in our humanity does not give us an excuse to live as victims with no personal responsibility or hope of change. Although we aren’t promised healing on this side of heaven, God is always able. It’s wise to still take steps to best care for our bodies and improve our situations, even if by degrees. However, I can testify that even if he doesn’t fully free us from our inner turmoil, Jesus is still at work within it as we lean on him. Only with the Spirit’s help is it possible to experience a level of spiritual peace and rest amid feelings of physical and mental unrest.

If this isn’t a struggle you’ve experienced, thank God for that. But remember to be patient with those who may experience burdens you haven’t been called to bear. Just because we don’t understand something doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. Personally, in my battle against Lyme disease and my child’s lifelong battle with neurological challenges, I’ve seen the difference between anxiety rooted in unbelief and anxiety rooted in a dysregulated body that’s been affected by the Fall.

Both stem from weakness—but one is from the heart; the other is from living in a frame riddled with cracks.”