In this Healing Out Loud video, Jon Reddick vulnerably shares his struggle with letting go of past hurt and learning to trust God. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by your past or overcome with fear…or are feeling that way now…can we invite you to watch this video?
“I do want to encourage anyone who’s hearing this and has been struggling in your own story to let some things go”. – Jon Reddick
Painful. Long-lasting. Unfair. Those are some words that you could use to describe a season of suffering. It’s natural to ask “Why?” during these times.
As Jon shares, the journey through fear and past hurt is not walked alone. He describes how revisiting painful memories with the help of a mentor helped him recognize how these early experiences shaped his fears. But how God has brought purpose out of even the most painful times.
"Suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope."
Romans 5:3-4
This scripture answers some of the “why” questions of our seemingly unfair suffering. God uses our suffering to teach us and prepare us.
Suffering loosens the grip we have on all things temporary and strengthens our hope for eternity. We begin to understand the difference between this broken world and a wholly healed eternity. If you are in a season of suffering, I pray that you find comfort in God’s presence today. And that God will lovingly use the pain to deepen your sustaining hope.
If this is encouraging to you, this is a part of a free 7-day devotional series. Start day 1 right now and sign up below!
View this Healing Out Loud Video with Jon Reddick, and other interviews with JOY FM artists videos on the JOY FM YouTube Channel.
Read This Testimony from Jon Reddick
Jon Reddick:
When I say fear, I mean emotional. One of the things I would never do is let people be close enough to me, close enough to my emotions. I protected the emotional side of me, like Fort Knox. Even the people I would call my closest people, life was so difficult that I’d just shut down, and I didn’t trust anything that anybody was saying. And that was when I knew I had to figure out how to defeat fear or how to move through fear.
When I decided to go on the journey, I remember one of my mentors who was helping me through this journey, walked me back to the moment where some of my fear actually took root. I’m one of those people who went through some things at the… That maybe parents didn’t know I was going through as a kid. And the people that my parents probably trusted weren’t to be trusted. And so…
And I had to go to the point because in order for me to get away from that or not have that always hurting me, I had to, in a way, dissociate. What’s that word? Dissociate? Dissociate, separate myself from the kid in me who couldn’t protect myself, or didn’t know exactly what to do, or for whatever reason.
And I trust God and I love God. And I didn’t realize that I’d also said, “God, I love you and I trust you, but I don’t always know what you’ll allow, and I don’t ever want that to happen again. So God, have this part of me. And I’m going to take care of this part of me.”
Last year, I had to actually bring those back together and understand that as a kid, I couldn’t have possibly… As a six-year-old, seven-year-old, I couldn’t have possibly made an adult decision. And we talk about joy. To go back and find the parts of me that actually knew what joy was, and to go back and die. Allow God to have all of me. And so when I get up and declare that fear can’t be over my family, or my future, or my life, I mean it because I finally stand on the side and understands that you know what? A lot of bad things happen in our world. And for whatever reason in God’s love, he allows the things to happen, but he never lets us go too far away.
I do want to encourage someone. I do want to encourage anyone who’s hearing this and has been struggling in your own story to let some things go. A lot of times, we carry loads that we just shouldn’t be carrying. Sometimes, we’re carrying the things that God is already trying to carry for us. I want to say that maybe the hardest things to hand over are the nuggets of… Are holding the core of the healing. The big part of the healing that we’re asking for is behind that veil, if you want to call it, that we’re covering up to make sure that nobody gets to those other parts.
Producer:
Are you experiencing some joy, now?
Jon Reddick:
I’m definitely experiencing some joy. It’s funny. Now, on the other end of it, it’s weird. I feel so different, but I don’t feel like… It’s weird. I feel like it’s the me that’s always been there. Actually, maybe this is the better way to explain it. It doesn’t feel like it’s not me. It doesn’t even feel like I haven’t been feeling this joy, the entire time.
Sometimes, I’ll be in a conversation with my wife and I’m like, “Oh, wait. I used to do X, Y, Z. She’s like, “Yeah.” I was like, “I don’t even feel like I used to do that.” I feel a different joy in my heart and it feels like it’s been there forever. It’s so weird.
But there is something on the other side of healing that is rewarding even on this earth for us. So I can’t imagine what heaven will be like, I’m excited about that. But I’m just grateful for real joy. Not I press play on the comedy and I’m laughing, that’s cool too. But the joy that gives you that you just wake up and you just smile, and look just like for what? What? I don’t know. Just because…
So I don’t know. There’s so much joy on the other side of some of these things and I am excited for you. If you’re walking through something and you’re walking towards some joy, I’m excited for what that’s going to be like for you. I really am.
This blue chair is all about… I don’t know what it is, man. It’s crazy though. It’s great.
Producer:
It’s Holy Ground…!
Jon Reddick:
Thank you for giving us opportunities to do this, right here. This is something… This is healing in itself. Thank you.
Combat Fear with Encouraging Messages
Imagine… the right words being spoken into your life at the exact right time. Listening to JOY FM gives you that constant reminder about what God thinks about you, and be reminded 24/7 of His love for you. With the JOY FM App, these messages of hope and transformation are always at your fingertips, ready to uplift and inspire you, no matter where you are or what you’re going through.
You can take JOY with you wherever you go by streaming right now by clicking here to listen. Or you can easily bring JOY with you by downloading the JOY FM App.
What can you expect from listening to JOY FM?
You’re going to hear a lot of great music. Music with meaning…but you’re still going to want to sing along with the songs.
You’re going to hear on-air personalities that are real people. Laughing. Having fun. And being honest about life.
And you’re going to notice that JOY FM leaves you feeling a little better about life in general. A few minutes of listening should leave you feeling uplifted…encouraged…refreshed…ok, we’ll say it…more JOYful!
