How God Used the Jonas Brothers to Reach Me (Part 1)

I never expected to see God work through Jonas Brothers concerts…but here we are.

While the Jonas Brothers launched into stardom largely in part to Disney, I remember when they had the cover story of a Christian girls’ magazine in 2005. As pastors’ sons, they spoke about honoring God as teenagers in a secular world.

This was 2008, long before Ticketmaster had interactive maps. It randomly assigned you a spot and you chose to take it or leave it. I had four seats reserved and I didn’t question it. Then the website crashed. I was devastated.

Round 2 opened up for VIP tickets a week later. It would cost a lot more, but maybe this was my way in. This time, trying for 1 ticket in case it might help. But the same thing happened and I was crushed. The Jonas Brothers were coming to town and I’d never get to go. The teenage fangirl in me felt like this was the end of the world.

Two months later, the concert was approaching. Everyone would be there…except for me. I wanted to go so badly, but there was no way.

But God.

For whatever reason, my family and I went to the Verizon store. On our way inside, I saw a sign about winning Jonas Brothers tickets. It was unlikely to win, but the concert was two days away. We simply had to enter the contest the next day, and return in the evening to find out if we won. So we did.

The local radio partner arrived to draw names and announce the winners. I was stunned to hear my name called. And then my sister’s. I may have screamed or jumped in unbelief.

The four tickets we originally tried for were now in my hands. God knew…instead of paying scalpers, or even face value, we got to go for free.

This is one of the first times I truly acknowledged God’s grace over my life. His grace being a free gift we don’t earn or pay for. We simply receive it.

In Romans 3:23-24, Paul explains grace:

"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,"

On our own, we aren’t enough. We’ll never be able to pay the price for eternal life. We’ll never find the entryway, just like I couldn’t find a ticket to the concert. But because of Jesus, we are redeemed. His grace abounds, so there is more than enough for us. His grace is our free gift, our ticket to eternity in heaven. 

We no longer have to strive for approval or acceptance. We can receive God’s grace, right where we are. And He knows exactly how to reach us.

To close, that concert was everything I imagined…if not more. Out of any way I could have attended that show, I’m glad God did what He did in the ways He did.

Stay tuned for part 2!