Nehemiah and Lecrae.

 

I began to dwell on this for the next few days. To me, these things are so special, but what chance does the world have? How will they ever see a crumbling, ancient wall the way I’ve grown to see it? How will they see Jesus as anything more than a man who lived a really long time ago and died an unfair death? How will they see a man who died 2,000 years ago as physically able to fill the void in their life that they’ve convinced themselves doesn’t really exist?

 

I wasn’t even really pondering these questions when I got my answer. If you know me, one of the ways I feel closest to God is when I’m driving through a place I’ve never been and listening to music. I glue myself to the window, soaking in all of the beauty and wonder of a new place, while relaxing to rythms and words of songs that no one else can hear (if I have my iPod on). In this way, I feel like God can speak to me one on one, and He often does, even in secular music.

 

 

However, this day, we were driving through the gorgeous Negev desert on our way to The Dead Sea. The terrain of the desert was breathtaking, with towering mountains, colored sands, and wide, open skies. This is where Abraham and Sarah traveled thousands and thousands of years ago. This is where Jesus went into the wilderness to be tempted by Satan for forty days and forty nights.

 

And, in the seclusion of my world, I put my iPod on shuffle, but God selects the song.

 

I’m not sure how many of you know who Lecrae is, but if the name isn’t familiar, you’re really missing out. Growing up as a hard-luck kid in a single parent household in Houston, Texas, he turned to rap as a way to outlet his emotions and express himself. However, at 19 years of age, he attended a conference and Jesus turned his world inside out. He got saved and began to evangelize everywhere he went. Completely on fire for God, he printed out his testimony and handed it out on his campus at the University of Northern Texas. He began to counsel kids at detention centers and juvenile hall, hoping to reach them for Christ.

 

But God called him to rap.

 

I’ve had this convrsation with many people, but I feel the same kind of emotion in Lecrae’s rap as I do in a worship service. He doesn’t sugarcoat the world’s allure on our affections, but calls us to rise above these strongholds and find our victory in Christ. His lyrics are raw, his message is clear, and listening to each song is like a sermon in itself. In fact, one of his songs’ challenge was pivotal in my even applying for the World Race.

 

The song that God just happened to play to me while riding through the desert.

 

The song is called, “Don’t Waste Your Life”, and it challenges us to not get caught up in the things of the world, but to change the world for Jesus. In the first verse he says,

 

 

So what if people pass by these markers of holiness I’ve ascribed so much worth just to discard their garbage? There have been many, many days I walked out the front door to a world full of beauty and could only focus on ugliness. How desecrating is that to Creator God, who painted the red of a robin’s breast and orchestrated the impossible softness of a tall grass’ sigh?

 

What does it matter if the world doesn’t believe? That’s what I’ve sold my life out for, to show them that I do believe. That there is a reason to believe, a reason that goes beyond the words I can speak or the images I can paint.

 

Maybe Nehemiah’s Wall looks irrelevant. Maybe the alley that Jesus walked down, carrying the cross that atoned for our sins is now a market where people bicker and argue to get the lowerst prices on souvenirs. Maybe the Temple Mount now houses a mosque, the worship center for followers of a different faith. Maybe every single pilgrimage site is flanked by vendors and tourists and hawkers and gawkers.

 

But my Jesus… He’s alive.