It's A Good Place To Start

by Jaz James

Hey Love,

If you’ve been in this industry for any amount of time, you’ve probably heard it in a hundred different ways. Maybe not always out loud, but in the looks, the silence, and the assumptions. Like somehow your job disqualifies you. Like the stage, the money, and the choices all add up to a line you’ve crossed that you can’t uncross.

So let’s just say it straight, without dressing it up: You haven’t gone too far, you haven’t done too much, you’re not too messed up, and your job doesn't disqualify you.

Not for God.

A lot of people picture God like He’s standing at a distance, arms crossed, waiting for you to get your life together before He even acknowledges you. But that's not who He is.

In fact, Jesus would walk straight through the front door, past the lights, past the music, past the bouncer, and sit down right where you are. Not to call you out, embarrass you, or make a scene.

Just to be with you.

He doesn’t flinch at your environment. He doesn’t panic over your moves on stage. He doesn’t get uncomfortable in spaces people told you were “off-limits” to Him.

There is nothing about your life that shocks God.

Not the nights you wish you could redo. Not the things you’ve had to do to survive. Not the  moments where you felt like you had to shut a piece of yourself off just to get through a shift. He sees all of it. Every detail.

And He never walks away.

A lot of people will stick around for the highlight reel version of you. The fun version. The confident version. The version that’s making money and holding it together. But Jesus stays for the parts you don’t show anyone. He’s there for your contemplative drives home, the emotional hangover after a long night, and the moments when it all feels a little heavier than you expected.

He’s there for all of it.

You Don’t Have to “Clean Up” First

Have you ever thought, “Maybe I'll look for God after I figure everything out.” I know I did. But that’s kind of like saying, “I’ll get in shape before I go to the gym.” It just doesn’t work like that. God has never said, “Fix yourself, then come find me.” He says, “Come find me, and we’ll figure this out together.”

You don’t need a new life first. You don’t need a different job first. You don’t need a perfect record, a clean slate, or a polished version of yourself.

You just need to be real.

He Sees More Than Your Job

When people look at you, it may feel like they only see a stereotype, or a story they made up about you without even talking to you.

But that’s not how God sees you.

He sees the person who had to grow up faster than she should have. The one who figured out how to survive when life didn’t hand her easy options. The one who carries more than she lets on. He sees your strength, your intelligence, your resilience, and your heart.

Not just what you do, but who you are.

The biggest lie isn’t that God isn’t real. It's that He’s real…but not for you. That you’ve somehow landed in a category where grace doesn’t reach anymore. But grace doesn’t have a cut-off point. There’s no invisible line where God says, “That’s it. Too much.”

If anything, the stories in the Bible lean the opposite direction. The people Jesus spent time with were the ones everyone else had already written off. They were not cleaned up, put together people. In fact, many of his own disciples were ostracized by society.

And He moved toward them, not away from them.

It's Easy, Really

This doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need the right words. You don’t need a script. You don’t need to know what you’re doing. If all you have is a quiet moment, maybe in your car, maybe getting ready, maybe lying in bed after a long shift, that’s enough. You can literally just say, “God, I don’t even know where to start… but I’m here.”

God is not asking you to become someone else before you come to Him. He’s just asking you to come as you are.

And He’ll meet you there.

“Nothing… will be able to separate us from the love of God…” Romans 8:38-39

*****

Jaz James is the director of Strip Church and founder of Lace Warriors, a strip club ministry that serves entertainers in West Texas and Northern Mexico.