When a person considers taking action, they typically focus on how to accomplish it. However, when God has a specific purpose, He first seeks out the right person to carry it out. Justin Taylor, in his blog, recounts the life of Jerry Bridges, a man chosen by God at the right place at the right time for His glory.
In August of 1948, just before starting his sophomore year of college, 18-year-old Jerry found himself alone in bed one night. He acknowledged to the Lord that he was not genuinely a Christian, despite growing up in a Christian household and professing faith. He prayed, “God, whatever it takes, I want Christ to be my Savior.”
The following week, while working on a school assignment in his room at the University of Oklahoma, Jerry reached for a textbook and discovered the little Bible his parents had gifted him in high school. Realizing that he was now a Christian, he decided to start reading it daily, a practice he maintained for the rest of his life.
In a tribute by his friend, prayer partner, and occasional co-author, Bob Bevington wrote: “I cannot improve upon the reflections and remembrances of those who knew him better than I did. But I do know that he received from the Lord the ultimate acclamation as he entered into the joy of his Master, hearing the words we all long to hear: ‘Well done, my good and faithful servant.’ There was nothing flashy about Jerry Bridges. He was a humble and unassuming man, strong in spirit, if not in voice or frame. Now, we can rejoice with him in his complete healing as he beholds his beloved Savior face to face. Thank you, God, for this man who helped us see and know You more.”
Jerry was born with several disabilities. He was cross-eyed, deaf in his right ear (which was underdeveloped), and had deformities in his spine and breastbone. However, due to his family’s financial struggles, they could not afford medical care for these challenges. After graduating with an engineering degree on a Navy ROTC scholarship, Jerry served as an officer in the Navy during the Korean War (1951-1953). A fellow officer invited him to attend a Navigator Bible study, and he was captivated, having never experienced anything like it before.
After only two years in the Navy, Jerry resigned because of failing a physical exam as a result of a hearing loss in his right ear and was given a medical discharge. Eventually, he joined the Navigators, serving from 1955 until 2016. In his role as a Vice President for Corporate Affairs, he contributed to the strategic and operational leadership of the ministry. He also emphasized the centrality of the gospel in everyday life, which remains a key emphasis in Navigator discipleship, and he was also instrumental in training and mentoring young staff and disciples within the ministry. Jerry Bridges entered into the joy of his Master on Sunday evening, March 6, 2016, at Penrose Hospital in Colorado Springs, one day after suffering cardiac arrest. He was 86 years old.
Throughout his time with the Navigators, Jerry authored more than 20 books, focusing on themes such as justification, sanctification, holiness, righteousness, grace, and discipline. In 2014, he published a memoir entitled God Took Me by the Hand: A Story of God’s Unusual Providence, which chronicles the providential hand of God throughout his life. Excerpts from his writings are now being used as a daily devotional for discipleship in holiness by the Navigators. As we follow them who, through faith and patience, exercise their will and faith unto God in their daily living, may we also bear the sincere testimony of how God took us by the hand of His providence.
