Month: April 2022

from the pen of Jeff Joyner

Most people have scars. My first one, I developed from an accident when I was four years old. One day, my mom and I were sitting on the patio in lawn chairs, when it began to rain. My parents would always fold up the chairs every time a storm came through, so I asked my mom if I could fold up mine, and put it away. Though she was a bit hesitant, she finally said I could. As I began to pick up the chair, my hand slipped, and one of my fingers got caught in one of the hinges, which ultimately required several stitches. To this day, I can still see the scar on my finger, which always reminds me of that painful experience from my childhood.

As time went by, my visible scars began to accumulate, whether it was from a bicycle accident, or a severely broken wrist. And each scar would tell a different story, of a specific pain or adversity, that I had endured from the past. I had also become aware, that there were additional scars, that were not visible. These were not from physical calamities, but from emotional ones. And often, I found that these wounds were generally much deeper, and would require a greater amount of time to heal.

Several years ago, I was in the midst of a crisis in my life, and began to ask God for direction. I had reached a point, where I had become extremely anxious about the future, and desperately needed to experience God’s peace. For a while, it seemed, the more I prayed, the more anxious I became. Finally, I whispered to the Lord, “I just have so many scars.” After sitting in silence for a while, I sensed my Savior responding, “I too have scars.” I knew right away what He was referring to. His hands. His feet. His side. As tears began rolling down my cheeks, I acknowledged once again, that it was His wounds that sealed my pardon. And that the scars I carry, are minuscule, compared to what he has done for me. I was ultimately able to experience God’s peace that day. For HE was pierced for my transgressions. HE was crushed for my iniquity. And by HIS wounds, I am healed.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah‬ ‭53:5‬ ‭ See less

NOTE: Author, song writer, and Pastor Jeff Joyner has graciously allowed me to share some of his insightful writings here on my website. This is the first one. In the future, I will indicate which of us is writing each individual post, but I thing the difference in writing styles is apparent!

My brothers and I used to love watching the old TV show “Seahunt.” Each episode chronicled the adventures of expert scuba diver Mike Nelson, who was called upon, to engage in a series of dangerous underwater tasks. The show, starring Lloyd Bridges, originally ran for four seasons, and then went into syndication in reruns. What most captivated us, were the underwater scenes, which either centered around some sort of dangerous rescue, or an underwater conflict with another diver. Of course, all this drama happened with the characters in full scuba gear, solely dependent on their scuba tanks for survival.

After several years of original episodes and reruns, “Seahunt” slowly slipped into obscurity, and finally went off the air. But it’s influence on me would remain. For I became determined to go scuba diving at least once during the course of my lifetime. One day, a friend of mine asked if I wanted to go with him to the Gulf of Mexico, to fish for Red Snapper. As I began thinking about it, he also added, “And we can take my scuba gear and tanks. I have extra ones you can use.” That’s all he had to say, and we were on our way to Florida.

After settling in, we headed down to the water, and put on our tanks. My friend, who was scuba certified, advised me not to go too deep. For a while, I tried to get used to relying on a scuba tank to breath. As I began to get more comfortable, I became quickly rattled, when I glanced toward the surface, and realized I had gone down too far. Although I had plenty of air in the tank, my first instinct was to panic. But I knew if I did, I might not make it back to the surface. I asked God to keep my heart calm, as I slowly ascended back up. Once I finally made it to shore, I sat in the sand for a while, and thanked God for giving me peace. It was then that I sensed Him saying, “I’m going to teach you how to depend on ME completely.” I knew exactly what he was saying. That even in the darkest recesses of the deep, He will be there. And in the midst of whatever circumstance I may face in the future, His life giving breath, will NEVER be in short supply.

“Nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Acts‬ ‭17:25‬