There is Always Hope . . .

Why this Substack Exists

And I feel you here
And you're picking up the pieces
Forever faithful
It seemed out of my hands, a bad situation
But you are able
And in your hands the pain and hurt
Look less like scars and more like character
- Sara Groves, “Less Like Scars”

Held in your light
I'll be alright
Being is brighter with you
You're my radiant reason for life
- Kings Kaleidoscope, “Radiant Reason”

Hi! My name is Joseph, and welcome to my Substack. In this post, I’m going to show you what to expect from my writing, and to do so let me start with a story.

The Darkness Will Not Overcome

A few days before Thanksgiving, I got a call from an old friend who said he recently had a bad dream. He woke up and when his wife asked him he said that he dreamed that I was dead. Immediately he turned on Instagram and found I hadn't posted anything since the end of August. A rush of chills flooded his spine and he proceeded to text me which then led to the phone call a few days later to tell me this funny story. After a couple of days, I would be in Maryland hanging out with him and his wife over Korean BBQ. I guess this is one of the gifts of social media: to have close friends wonder if you are alright and check on you based on your online activity (in this case, the lack thereof).

But how have I been doing? Well, it’s been a hard few years, and I feel like I’m finally climbing out of the rubble. In hindsight, I can say I’ve lived through the darkest season in my life thus far. Sleepless nights are real. The feeling of freefall after the floor of your life is ripped out felt miserable. Doubts about God’s goodness in my life raged within my mind. At times, I wondered if all the Christian books I had on my bookshelf were just kindling waiting for the next bonfire event.

And yet “In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1:5). The fact of Jesus Christ, his work on the cross, and the empty tomb kept annoying me every time wanted to throw in the towel. In reality, I couldn’t deny the fact that Jesus loves me, still does, and won’t stop compelling me to keep getting up.

I’ve felt many times like what Andrew Peterson wrote:

And I've seen too much, too much to deny
I've seen too much, too many points of light
I know too much, I saw the scars and touched His skin
That's how it was, and I cannot hold it in

I've seen so much that cannot be explained
And I realize it's a mystery of faith
But my friend was dead and He walked out of the grave
And I knew the world would never be the same
I saw too much, when I looked into the eye
Of the One I love and the One who loves me
And there was nowhere left to hide

I've seen too much, too much to deny
I've seen too much, too much to say goodbye
Too many points of light, too much to say goodbye
- Andrew Peterson, “I’ve Seen Too Much” (emphasis added)

If God is Truly Wonderful, Can You Imagine His Heart for His Kids?

So how did Jesus work in my life during this dark season? In many different ways, but, particularly, it didn’t help my doubts or despair that my brain was filled with the Gospel and deep theology. I’m not trying to boast because I felt like all of the biblical truth I had accumulated over the years stood against my desire to wallow in the darkness like a witness in a courtroom testifying against a criminal. Looking back, I have seen how God has blessed me since high school with churches, pastors, professors, friends, mentors, classes, and text groups that have filled my mind with more knowledge of Him.

I just wish my heart could catch up with my head.

But growing in godliness is not like installing a new video game on your computer or gaming console but more akin to real Texas beef brisket. You don’t microwave brisket. Instead, you smoke it for hours over low heat. It seems so long of a process like watching paint dry, and yet the result is the greatest piece of tender beef you ever tasted. The same goes for the Christian life. Sound doctrine and biblical truth are real, but seeing them applied in my life is a hard exercise and a lifelong process. Yet, it’s in those moments of pain, failure, sorrow, shame, and other dark realities that the truth of God becomes the bright light that brings the warmth you need. If God is truly who he says he is in his written Word, well Oh my! What a mighty God he is! He is beyond my highest thought! Can you imagine his heart for those who belong to him through his Son?

So, during these past dark years, the question wasn’t “Joseph, do you know the truth.” Instead, the question was “Joseph, you know the truth. Are you believing in it?”

Will I choose to trust that God is who he says he is?

Will I choose to trust that the Gospel of Jesus is still good news, even right now?

Will I choose to trust that Jesus still loves me, even when I don’t feel like he does?

Will I choose to believe that God is Sovereign, even over right now which I feel like is hell on earth?

Will I choose to believe in the truth of God’s goodness and his promises over the lies of my sin and Satan?

My heart is so fickle, and yet God’s heart towards me isn’t. And because I know that he is a se (self-sufficient), infinite, simple, eternal, immutable, impassible, and on and on, how can I make a legitimate defense against his love for me in Christ?

I can’t bring any objection to the God who gives his grace and peace to his sons and daughters in Christ.

A Lot has Changed, but the Gospel Hasn’t Changed.

I don’t know if your life has been like mine, but I’m sure that like me your life has gone through many changes—good, bad, or a mix of both. But for every human being, there is one thing that hasn’t changed: we need someone to save us from our sin. This means that another thing hasn’t changed: the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

If there is one major lesson God has taught me during the second half of this year, it is this:

I, as every human being, was made to worship. So, the question is not "Will you worship or not?" Instead, it is "Who are you worshiping?"

Looking back at these few years, I increasingly see how my heart is as John Calvin describes “an idol factory” that seeks satisfaction and significance in anything/anyone other than the Lord than in Him through his Son. And yet, if we recognize this, then we have what qualifies us to be rescued from our idolatry and to savor all that God is for us.

There is still hope for us who want to be more infatuated with Jesus, and I am so glad the same Gospel that saved me years ago will never stop working in me, even though I sometimes wonder if I'll ever "get there." But the Gospel of Jesus has no category for Christians to "get there" but has Christians enjoy "right now, every day, and forever" all that Jesus is.

We bring nothing
Jesus is Everything
He gets the glory
We rightly see Him as the treasure/joy

Give thanks to Him, for he is good. For his steadfast love endures forever.

I Only Wanna Move With You

I share all of this with you because I want you to see two key themes that I’ve seen in my life and what I want this Substack to be rooted in:

1. Learning to live a life out of God’s grace and peace.

2. Always encouraging Christians/churches to be more infatuated with Jesus than before. (If you are not a Christian, I want you to experience this for the first time!)

There will be different kinds of posts with different feels. Some will be very simple and light yet still rich in content, whereas others will be in-depth, academic-like essays that explore theological topics. Some will be heavy with application while others will be more thought reflection and mind-shaping. Some will be stirring to the heart while others will assert a point. But at the center of it all, I want this writing space to cultivate a desire to think, love, and live more deeply for God in light of who he is, what he has done, and what he is still doing.

So, yes, I’ve been through a lot lately, and yet God is still the same, Jesus is still Lord, Savior, and Friend, and his kingdom is forever. I guess there’s nothing new in God’s vantage point, but for us we get the privilege to learn more about how to live out his grace and peace day by day and to be more in love with him than before.

And that’s where the battle is because . . .

You know sometimes
I find myself moving
With the wrong voices
When really
I only wanna move
With you
- Kings Kaleidoscope, “Radient Reason

In Christ, we get the privilege to grow in embracing him and his Word over the lies of sin and Satan. We get the privilege to reject ungodliness and put on personal holiness. We get to deny the finite trends of this world and live lives that the King in all his beauty. We get to think deeply about the deep things of God and thus live lives richly in love with him. We get the privilege to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, follow Jesus, and tell those who don’t follow him to come repent and follow.

In short, we get the privilege of becoming who we are in Christ.

There is always hope for Christians/churches who want to be more infatuated with Jesus.

Ok, I’m done rambling. Let’s move with Jesus.

Grace and Peace

- Joseph Yu