Just Jesus

A couple months ago, my pastor gave a fascinating sermon about a common phenomenon found in Christian's lives. He called it Jesus plus. To sum it up, he was saying how we have a tendency to not be content with Christ alone, but to take up idols to serve in addition to Him.

For the Israelites in the Old Testament, they often sacrificed on altars for both God and gods, of the literal, statue variety. However, Jesus’ teachings in the New Testament reveal that idols don’t have to be physical statues, but anything that holds a prominent place in your heart, so much so, that it becomes more important than Him.

He lists a few common gods the people have—money, lust, security, status, other people—and guys, nothing’s really changed in the past two thousand years.

For some of us, we have made Jesus plus popularity our gods. Or Jesus plus wealth, Jesus plus success, Jesus plus our careers. Jesus plus romance, Jesus plus drugs, Jesus plus food. Jesus plus control, Jesus plus comfort (these two are big ones for me). Jesus plus the gym (also a struggle lately) Jesus plus our appearance, Jesus plus perfection (gosh, it’s like I’m writing these just for me). Jesus plus social media, Jesus plus porn. Jesus plus peoples’ approval, Jesus plus our families.

I could go on, and while the vast majority of these examples aren’t inherently harmful to pursue, they aren’t meant to be what we devote our lives to. Only the King’s supposed to sit on the throne of our hearts, after all.

In a world where we all fall into the Jesus plus mentality, the Sons of Korah (aka, the worship leaders who write Psalm 46) are presenting us with an impossible challenge: serve Jesus—just Jesus—without any pluses in sight.

Now, let’s be clear that this is impossible for us to do perfectly, because only Christ is perfectly without sin; nevertheless, trying to focus on just Jesus is a mighty goal, since it naturally fixes our eyes on the Author and Perfector of our faith (wow, lots of perfects there. Might I be trying to rebuke my own perfectionistic tendencies? Ya never know).

Speaking prophetically on behalf of the Lord, the Sons of Korah declare that “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth,’” and if you’re anything like me, this be still notion might make you think of one of my (I mean your) favorite verses: “the Lord will fight for you, you need only to be still” (Ps 46:10, Ex 14:14, NIV).

The idea of not worrying and simply resting in the Lord’s protection is something I’ve found a lot of comfort in; yet He’s saying something a bit harsher in this text. Essentially, God’s telling us knock it off! Stop resisting My rule and submit to Me.

Although this message is hard to hear, we need the tough-loving reminder that He is Sovereign, in control, greater than any pluses we put in His place … and we are none of the above.

It’s like the hidden refrain of this psalm is be still and know that just Jesus is all you need; knock it off ‘cause only just Jesus reigns. I kind of like when God gets stern with me—knock it off and enough, Maddie, and the like—because I’m reminded of the fact that I am His Child and He is my Father. Being corrected by Him is proof of His immense care for me, and if the remaining verses in this psalm are any indication, I’d much rather surrender to my Father’s authority than be against Him …

“Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. … Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; he lifts his voice, the earth melts. … [The] earth [gives] way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, … waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Ps 46:2-8, NIV).

Ruling over all kingdoms, dominions, weather events, seasons, natural and supernatural phenomena … is the “Lord Almighty,” Who is totally worthy of our reverence, respect, and awe (Ps 46:7, NIV). But, curiously, He’s also honored with the title “God of Jacob” (Ps 46:7, NIV). This distinction is paramount because Jacob is not the most honorable, trustworthy, or admirable man. He’s a schemer and liar, cowardly and often self-serving, but God is faithful in keeping His Covenant promise to him … in spite of him.

Readers, the Sons of Korah aren’t just emphasizing the grand power of the Lord, but also the grand mercy of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He’s the loving Father of messed up kids who frequently disobey Him and get into trouble. And referencing the rocky histories of their ancestors shines a light onto the caring, gracious side of the One Who can do immeasurable damage, yes, but also immeasurable restoration.

On that note, I have a little confession to make: those abovementioned holy-fear-inducing verses don’t tell the full story.  

The Lord brings desolation, but He “makes wars cease to the ends of the earth” as well (Ps 46:9, NIV). It’s true that creation melts at His voice, but He acts to “help [His people] at break of day” (Ps 46:5, NIV). And even though the terrifying waters can roar and foam and swallow up everything in their path, He is in charge of them and promises to provide a safe, life-giving, spiritual “river whose streams make glad the [people] of God” (Ps 46:4, NIV).

At the end of the day, His followers can receive all of His mercies because the “Lord Almighty is with [them]” and is empowering them to trust that “the God of Jacob is [still their] fortress” (Ps 46:7, NIV). For anyone who’s asked Jesus to be their Lord and Savior, they can confidently say exactly what the Sons of Korah do:  

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging” (Ps 46:1-3, NIV, emphasis mine).

Not God, plus my job, are my refuge and strength. Not Jesus, plus chocolate cake, are my ever-present help in trouble. No, just Jesus. Because He is the Sovern Savior Who is above all things, gracious, righteous, and “will be exalted … in the earth” at the end of time—because He is Him (not grammatically correct, but oh well)—we don’t have to fear (Ps 46:10, NIV).

Friends, with God as our Refuge, Strength, and Fortress, we have concrete, irrefutable proof that we not only don’t need to fear, but that we need to actively work on fearing not instead (tongue twister? You’re welcome).

What I mean by this is that getting closer to the war-ceasing, sacrificial, weather-controlling, rescuing-when-all-hope-seems-lost, Loving Father … is great motivation for putting in the time and energy to fight fear’s vice-like grip on us. Renewing our minds with His Truth, taking thoughts captive to His Word, and tackling the mountains of pain, heartache, and deep-seeded issues that such mental rewiring with likely reveal (get a counselor, hint hint) will all be worth it when we sense Him more.

Only God knows what sort of agonies the Sons of Korah are experiencing when they concoct this psalm—terrifying storms and sieges and wars seem to be bombarding them on all sides—and yet, none of that phases them. Because the very first verse they sing is the one, ironically enough, we need to focus on:

“God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear [all the scary stuff that Maddie’s already addressed]” (Ps 46:1, NIV, emphasis is obviously mine).

Therefore. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just Jesus and the faith that He inspires.

The deeper we go in relationship with Him, the more we’ll be able to believe these words, the more fear will lose its hold on us, and—I pray—the more we’ll remember that nothing but Jesus will satisfy.