Justin Bieber celebrates the goodness of God

SOURCE: INSTAGRAM / @JUSTINBIEBER

 Celebrities are often criticised for living superficial lives, caring only about themselves, how to keep themselves in the public eye in order to advance their own status and wealth. Therefore, it's worth noting those who evidence a deeper element in their life. 

Justin Bieber is extremely talented and, of course, is fully involved in developing this talent within the music industry. But his awareness of the spiritual dimension as key to a balanced life came through in his marriage to Hailey Baldwin, who has spoken of the centrality of their Christian faith in their partnership in life. 

That deeper awareness is seen in Bieber's response to the health problems experienced last month that forced the postponement of his world tour. His statements on Instagram are enlightening about the true character of this idol of a multitude of fans. 

In 2017 he told his fans that he had he cancelled the last 14 concerts of his Purpose world tour because, “I want my mind, heart and soul to be sustainable... so that I can be the man I want to be, the husband I eventually want to be, and the father I want to be.”. He had played 150 concerts across 40 countries. 

At that time he said that he was visiting an Irish castle when he had a stark realisation about his life, as successful as it was in terms of wealth and admiration. He said:

“There was a sense of still yearning for more.” He continued: “It was like I had all this success and it was still like, I’m still sad, and I’m still in pain. And I still have these unresolved issues. And I thought all the success was going to make everything good.” 

This time his health problems involved paralysis of his face. In this trial, God was with him:

Taking to Instagram, the singer spoke to his 244 million followers about the challenges he’s faced with facial paralysis and the peace he feels thanks to Jesus Christ. He revealed that he has been diagnosed with Ramsay Hunt syndrome. This illness happens when a shingles outbreak affects the facial nerve near a person’s ears. For Justin this has caused paralysis on the side of the face which has been attacked by the virus. He said: “I know this storm will pass but in the meantime I know Jesus is with me.”

On Monday June 20, the singer posted a video to his social media account speaking more about the diagnosis. He said: “I wanted to share a bit of how I’ve been feelin’. Each day has gotten better and through all of the discomfort I have found comfort in the one who designed me and knows me. I’m reminded he knows all of me. He knows the darkest parts of me that I want no one to know about and he constantly welcomes me into his loving arms. This perspective has given me peace during this horrific storm that I’m facing.” 

The Justice world tour begins July 31 in Lucca, Italy, and is set to run through March 25, 2023. Scheduled concerts in the US in June had to be put off for an indefinite time.

Photo from Justin Bieber’s Instagram

In an interview with GQ, Bieber shared about the miracle of God saving him from his past shame and mistakes. One report of that interview focuses on how his spiritual depth comes across clearly:

“Hurt people hurt people—you know? And there’s a quote; The comforted become the comforters. I don’t know if you’ve heard that before. But I really do feel comforted. I have a wife who I adore, who I feel comforted by. I feel safe. I feel like my relationship with God is wonderful. And I have this outpouring of love that I want to be able to share with people, you know?” Bieber said.

But Bieber’s past life and his new life in Christ are only a few short years apart. Bieber said that God redeemed him from an almost inevitable road of emptiness.

“I was surrounded by a lot of people, and we were all kind of just escaping our real life,” Bieber said. “I think we just weren’t living in reality. I think it would have probably resulted in just a lot of doing drugs and being posted up, to be honest.”

Mistakes bring regret and shame, but Jesus is there in the midst of it all:

"He is grace,” Bieber added. “Every time we mess up, He’s picking us back up every single time. That’s how I view it. And so it’s like, ‘I made a mistake. I won’t dwell in it. I don’t sit in shame. But it actually makes me want to do better.’

“My goal isn’t to try and persuade anybody to believe in what I believe or condemn anybody for not believing what I believe,” Bieber continues. “If it can help someone, great. If someone’s like, ‘Hey, I don’t believe that. I don’t think that’s true,’ by all means, that’s their prerogative.” 

“If God forgives me and He loves me and He set these things in motion, if He put these desires in my heart, then I’m going to trust Him,” Bieber said.

I thought all the success was going to make everything good. And so for me, the drugs were a numbing agent to just continue to get through.” 

 Although God’s redemption is evident in Bieber at 28, his faith is active and continues to grow.

“I just kept trusting what He said and what He’s saying to me,” Bieber explains. “And I just believe He speaks to me. It’s not audible. I don’t hear His audible voice. I don’t know if people do. I know people have said it, and in the Bible, it talks about that, but I just never heard it. It’s more like nudges: Don’t do this. Or: Set these boundaries.”

He added: “It’s just rewarding to be all that you were designed to be. And I believe that, at this point in my life, I’m right where I’m supposed to be, doing what I believe that God wants me to do. And there’s nothing more fulfilling.” 

Amid the gloom and doom of life it's great to have someone with the strength of character to face off those would reject all boundaries in their life and make the choice to live without acknowledging the supernatural qualities of their humanity that God has endowed them with. The bland one-dimensional existence that so many people in the West endure is not all there is to life, as Bieber makes clear. 

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