Many times throughout history, we have seen God welcome people with volatile pasts into his Kingdom. We serve a God who never sees us as too far gone.
Lecrae, a Christian rapper and author, has a heartbreaking, inspiring, and God-honoring testimony—a gripping reminder that God can use ALL of us to impact this world and bring people into a relationship with Him. As he was growing up, Lecrae struggled with a feeling of emptiness. He longed to feel that he was significant, but the world around him was sending different messages about his worth. He was raised by a single mom and never met his father, which caused him pain that he felt for most of his life. The search for significance and a father figure led him to the world of hip-hop; the songs and videos he saw connected him to a life of gangs, crime, and drugs, while Lecrae still hoped for a light to shine on the darkness in his life. In his testimony, Lecrae discusses a moment when he walked out in front of a car and pointed a BB gun. The woman in the car started to cry, thinking this was the end of her life. Lecrae was heading in a direction that he had seen many go before him. His worried mother told him that he needed to read the Bible, but Lecrae started to tear pages out of it, not wanting anything to do with God’s Word. As Lecrae reflects now, he remembers a time where he was arrested and considered himself a “misfit of a person.” The more he ran from God, the more profound his emptiness became. After being invited to a Christian conference, he saw that there were people just like him who were now pursuing Jesus Christ. While this impacted him, it did not cause him to immediately cling to Christ. Later, while driving on the highway, he lost control of his vehicle. His car flipped multiple times and was destroyed. The impact was so severe that his glasses were embedded in the dashboard—yet he emerged without a scratch. In that moment, he gave his heart to God. Lecrae began working with troubled youth at a juvenile facility and he would perform rap songs he had been writing. He noticed that the teenagers connected—to the point of tears—to the hopeful messages he was rapping about. As they began requesting that he perform the songs over and over, Lecrae knew what God wanted him to do. As the years have passed, Lecrae has become well-known in the rap world. One of his earliest songs, “Take Me As I Am,” includes this verse: “Now I’m hearin’ I just need to cling to the light, I’m ready to do it, but Lord I pray you understand, My life is a mess, will you take me as I am.” Unlike many rappers, Lecrae is spreading a message of the love of Jesus Christ, focusing on bringing hope to the hurting. While it has been a long and sometimes painful journey, he “has learned to stay close to my source of significance.” Light now exists, where darkness used to reign. If you would like to read Lecrae's story in greater detail (His book "Unashamed") or connect with his music or any of the resources we offer, click here. -Brian for Faith In Store
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May 2019
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