JONATHAN & MELISSA HELSER PT 2

Life, as Melissa so aptly puts it is so full of pain and heartache, joy and delight. It's the full spectrum. And we aren't always prepared for that range of emotions and experiences. Yet Jesus immersed himself in it all - in family and in friendships - in the human experience. He faced heartache, betrayal, persecution, pain and death. And then He left us with the beautiful gift of the Helper - The Holy Spirit. So we would never go through ANYTHING alone again.

One of my favorite parts of this interivew is Melissa speaking about the fruit that suffering produced in her life. I was undone (as you will hear). That is zero resistance to The Holy Spirit – allowing whatever we are going through to produce the good fruit of kindness, mercy, grace, patience and self control in our lives. It’s like there is this ongoing invitation from the Holy Spirit to an upgrade in our nature. To our true selves. We are often busy fretting or freaking out – and the Holy Spirit is wooing us – come away with me – let’s get a heavenly perspective on this. He never leaves us. He never expected us to have all the answers.

I've titled this episode 'Thriving in the Human Experience' after Jonathan and Melissa's powerful statements about embracing life and our connection to Jesus no matter what we are going through.

They kick off by speaking vulnerably about Melissa's journey with chronic pain as a result of a rare bone disease she has been struggling with since she was 17. I asked her about self-pity, bitterness and disappointment in God. How she's managed her heart through such tough seasons. Jonathan speaks about all this from his perspective as her husband and best friend. Its incredible stuff.

And for those of you who want to hear the delightful story of how Bethel Music signed the Helsers – it's all in this episode.

May you be inspired and continue strong in your own beautiful pursuit.