Some sentences are short enough to fit on a sticky note and strong enough to carry a whole life. This week’s quote spotlight is one of them. It comes from Jonathan Anthony Burkett’s memoir, Neglected But Undefeated: The Life Of A Boy Who Never Knew A Mother’s Love.
“Faith is why I’m here today and faith is why I made it through.”
Jonathan Anthony Burkett, Neglected But Undefeated
At first glance it sounds simple. But when you know the road behind those words, it becomes a testimony.
The Road Behind the Words
Jonathan was born in 1987 in Florida. He spent his early childhood happily with his grandparents in Jamaica. At six, he moved back to the United States to live with his mother, and the home he found there was not a safe or loving one. By fourteen, he was homeless. In 2005 he faced another storm: brain surgery for a disorder that caused seizures. The surgery was successful.
Any one of those seasons could have broken a young man. Jonathan names what carried him through all of them. Not luck. Not only willpower. Faith.
“Here Today”: Faith as Survival
The first half of the quote is about survival: “Faith is why I’m here today.” That is an honest statement. Some people come through hard years with scars you cannot see, and when they look back, they know they did not make it on their own strength.
Maybe you know that feeling. You look at the hospital stay, the divorce, the lost job, the childhood you would not wish on anyone, and you wonder how you are still standing. Jonathan’s words give that wonder a name. God was holding you when you could not hold on.
“Made It Through”: Faith as a Road
The second half moves forward: “faith is why I made it through.” Notice the word through. Faith did not carry Jonathan around his trials. It carried him through them, one day at a time.
That matches what Scripture teaches about faith:
Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Hebrews 11:1 (KJV)
A homeless fourteen-year-old cannot see the author, songwriter and business founder he will one day become. A young man facing brain surgery cannot see the other side of the operating room. Faith is how you keep walking toward a tomorrow you cannot yet see.
Faith That Learned to Forgive
One of the most powerful parts of Jonathan’s story is what faith produced in him. Through faith and writing, he forgave his mother. Forgiveness did not erase what happened, and it did not mean pretending the pain was small. It meant refusing to let the past keep the final word.
That may be the deepest meaning of “made it through.” Surviving a storm is one thing. Coming out of it without letting bitterness take over your heart is another. Jonathan went on to write books and songs and to found Upstormed, a name that grew out of rising through storms.
How to Live This Quote Out
- Write your own “here today” list. Take five minutes and list the storms God has already carried you through. When fear comes, read it again.
- Take the next step, not every step. Faith does not ask you to see the whole road. Ask God for strength for today.
- Tell your story. Jonathan wrote his down so others could find hope. Your testimony, shared with a friend or your children, can do the same.
- Release someone. If there is a person you need to forgive, start with a simple prayer asking God to help you. Healing often begins there.
- Encourage someone in the middle of their storm. They may not need advice. They may only need to hear, “You are going to make it through.”
A Word for You Today
If you are in the middle of something hard right now, let this quote be a promise on loan until you can say it yourself. One day you will look back and say, “Faith is why I’m here today.” You will not have walked around the storm. You will have walked through it, and you will not have walked alone.
Jonathan’s best-known words say it another way: “You know my name, not my story.” Behind every person you meet is a story of storms. Be gentle with each other. Read the story behind that signature quote here, and find the full memoir on Amazon.
What storm has your faith carried you through? Share it in the comments so someone else can find hope today.
Learn more about Jonathan at www.jonathanburkett.com. Follow him on Instagram and Facebook.
Sources: Jonathan Anthony Burkett, Neglected But Undefeated (Jonathan Anthony Burkett Publications); Goodreads, “Jonathan Anthony Burkett Quotes”; King James Bible, Hebrews 11:1 (checked on biblehub.com KJV).
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