Jeremiah Covey

Meet Jeremiah Covey — a young man who discovered that being popular, successful, and accepted still couldn’t fill the deeper longing in his heart. In this powerful episode, Jeremiah shares how a life built on image, status, and self-reliance eventually left him searching for something more. What happens when a friend lovingly challenges you to examine your faith? And how do you move from being a lukewarm believer to living fully surrendered to Jesus? Join us as Jeremiah talks about identity, community, evangelism, and why true fulfillment is found not in what we can achieve for ourselves, but in what Christ has already done for us.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 1:21

Hey, well, welcome everybody to Flying Leaves. It's great to have you back for another one of our episodes. And today I'm joined by Jeremiah Covey. Hey, welcome, Jeremiah.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

Thank you very much for having me, right? I'm glad to be here.

SPEAKER_02 1:32

It's great. And we're we're so excited to be able to share with you just another story of a young adult who lives in this restless world, living out their faith, um, working through what it means to be a follower of Jesus, a disciple. Not always easy in this world, but uh what a privilege it is to be a follower of Jesus Christ. And Jeremiah, uh, just great to have you here with us a little bit. And just want to get started with a little bit of your story. Uh tell us a little bit about who you are and uh, you know, your faith background and how you came into the faith and what it means to you now.

SPEAKER_01 2:03

Absolutely, yeah. Uh so I was I was raised in the faith, yeah. Christian parents. Uh my dad was principal at a Christian school that I grew up in. So I was always blessed to be raised in a community that that taught about Jesus, that taught about the love of Jesus. It took me a while to figure out what that really meant for me, and that he really was standing right next to me. And I would say I figured that out again after a couple years of hardship moving from from British Columbia to here. I'll really figure that out about a year and a bit ago now, 16 months, give or say, give or take. And honestly, it's been incredible. God worked so much on me for seven months, showing me what to be doing, putting people in my life to really affect just how I saw the church after so many years and what Jesus really wanted to do in my life through people and through himself right there. And then after a little while of that, he gave me opportunities to serve, and that brought me to St. Peter's, which changed my life with the community there just pouring into my life and giving me opportunities to serve as well. So I really, truly, really, truly appreciate community, honestly, how Jesus has just showed me his love through all of that in a way that is impossible to deny.

SPEAKER_02 3:25

So you talked about being raised in a Christian home, and I'm sure there's many, you know, people who are listening to this podcast who are raised in a Christian home, and parents do a best job as they can as raising their kids. But of course, as we're young adults or teenagers, we're working through life. And um, you know, uh going through high school, I'm sure that that's a challenging time, isn't it, for a lot of young people?

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Yeah, high school. High school is really about trying to prove yourself. And I I was a victim of that, I would say. Not in a way that I didn't want to be. Obviously, I I really liked the idea of being cool.

SPEAKER_02 4:08

Right.

SPEAKER_01 4:09

But I would say that really is the mentality of everyone there. Whether they want to be or not, they're always pursuing status and importance. And and I got to be of a certain status and a certain importance in my high school, where I got to be that one of those cool people. And I was at a Christian high school too. Christian is a loosely used term, I would say, to describe schools. I would I would not attest that all the teachers there were role models, Christian role models. But I was in a place that should have been bettering my faith, but all I wanted to do was prove that I wasn't I wasn't truly a follower of Jesus. I was I was too cool. So I would say it really ramped up into grade 11 that summer, and then I started playing football in grade 12. And uh that entire culture truly is about proving yourself and partying and proving yourself there, showing you can handle anything that's thrown at you by all by yourself, which really did not encourage me to rely on anyone but myself. So my entire image was all up to me. My faith was a culture, and and Jesus was pretty drawn back from my life. Wasn't walking with me, was not lighting my steps. My steps were my own, and it showed. It absolutely showed.

SPEAKER_02 5:39

Do you think that's pretty typical for high school these days? That uh whole thing of trying to fit in, I guess, or trying to prove or you find your identity in well, yourself and others who give you your identity, I guess.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Yeah. Yeah, I would say the culture everywhere in our lives is that way, where we create our own identity. And if you can't do it good enough yourself, then you camp on your insecurities. I would say in high school, especially right now, and starting younger and younger, people are camping on anxiety, being a critical part of their identity instead of just an attack on them. And they're camping on any sort of mental attacks and making it a part of them instead of understanding who their identity truly is in.

SPEAKER_02 6:30

Talk about that a little bit more camping on your anxiety. What does that mean?

SPEAKER_01 6:36

Actually, I stole that terminology, I'll admit. I was at a young adult's just last night and I heard it again, where instead of in Psalm 23, you walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I would say anxiety is a shadow on your life. And all of these things are a shadow on your life.

SPEAKER_02 6:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 6:58

Instead of walking through them to the other side where it's sunny again, you're setting up camp right in this valley of the shadow of death. And you're sitting there and you're living in it. Instead of letting Jesus bring you through it and work through it, you're clinging on to it even when Jesus is telling you to let go. And this applies to an incredible amount of things. It applied to the partying, it applied to the drinking. But I would say a plague in school right now are these mental afflictions. People are being told they have and being told that that's who they are.

SPEAKER_02 7:37

So you talked about a turning point in your life coming out of high school. Um, obviously, there was some something that happened or some changes in your life that allowed you to kind of begin to follow Christ. Can you, you know, look at a certain event or events that happened in your life that led you back kind of into a stronger relationship with Christ?

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Before I got cool, I'll I'll say it that way, I was on the sadder side of things. I was drawn to very depressing music and all that. And I don't think that ever truly went away, even when I became the popular kid. I would say like it just hit it, really. But it was still it was still there, and it got to the point where after a couple years of of having a great time partying, having whatever I wanted, really, like I was I was living a pretty fun life, according to the world. Right.

SPEAKER_02 8:36

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 8:37

It got to the point where I never felt fulfilled. And and there's an amazing saying, if if sin was all you needed, you'd only have to do it once. Right. But I had to keep going back to all of these sins to feel fulfilled over and over and over again, right? It's it's every weekend there's there's a new function. Every weekend there's something to do. Every day at school, you gotta prove yourself. But I got to the point where I really truly wasn't fulfilled. And I went back to one of my friends who I had gone to school with from grade four to six, and we'd hung out occasionally, and he had really seen me adapt a different lifestyle than he knew was meant for me. And we went to the gym and then we went to Wendy's and we talked for about three hours at that Wendy's accidentally, and and he called me out.

SPEAKER_00 9:32

Nobody else did that. He said, Why are you living this way? And is it worth it? And I realized it wasn't.

SPEAKER_01 9:44

And it took another time to meet with that guy at Wendy's again, to understand I have to be all in or all out with my faith.

SPEAKER_00 9:59

No one had ever instilled in me that I was lukewarm.

SPEAKER_01 10:06

I had heard sermons preached on being lukewarm, but I didn't I I maybe thought I was, but I didn't know. And he he was like, You you are. And he called me out and and I said, Okay, I'm gonna go and I'm gonna look at what I claim to believe in. And if I find it to be true, I'm all in. And I did. And honestly, I haven't stopped looking, and I think that's a big part of faith, is you never stop analyzing it. Questions are a good thing. But I I looked and I said, Okay, I'm all in, Lord. And that's when he said, Okay, here are the things you need to stop doing. And then that was six months, and then and then he said, Here are the things you should be doing.

SPEAKER_02 10:52

Interesting. That's that's that's that's really powerful because you know, that relationship um that Christ has given you started with some things that you need to change that are pretty difficult to change. And so I can imagine that six months of uh wrestling match with God um must have been difficult for you. But obviously, you know, come through that, and so I'm really interested in what your life looks like now.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

From a year and a half ago, it looks it looks very different. My entire life, like I said, was self-serving to create my image. And I really truly pray that this is true, but I I I feel that everything that I try to do and the way I try to live is to further the kingdom and truly represent Jesus Christ as I am called to do and thankfully instructed to do through the scripture and the gospel of Jesus Christ.

SPEAKER_02 12:03

So, what what are what have been the challenges then of you know keeping on that path, so to speak? Um not only maybe from your perspective, but maybe as you look at some of those around you friends, neighbors, maybe people your own age, what are the challenges that that we face to follow Jesus in this in this world that we live, you know, the secular world that we live in?

SPEAKER_01 12:28

Most people don't want to see you succeed. They like living in sin with you.

unknown 12:33

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:34

I'm very blessed to have an amazing community around me. And even from high school, being in a Christian school, I'm I was so blessed that the people there were actually on my side.

SPEAKER_00 12:48

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:49

They saw me change, and they didn't there was no hatred towards me.

SPEAKER_00 12:55

Right.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

From a couple people, maybe there was there was disagreement, but I think that's also healthy. The big thing was I I had to stop focusing on proving to myself that I was being good enough for Jesus.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

Right.

SPEAKER_01 13:11

I would say if people aren't telling you that you're not good enough, the devil's gonna put those thoughts in your own mind. And for a while, one of the biggest things I wrestled with was, God, am I doing enough? Once I got a taste of serving, that's all I wanted to do. It's like it feels good to serve somebody that ain't me. But it it got to a point where the devil was just feeding me, there's more, there's more, there's more. You're not doing enough. Wow, God's disappointed. And I would say I'm still in a point that I love to be involved in a lot of ministries, but not to prove myself anymore. So for me, a big struggle was overcoming again that self-image that carried through was now my image was in Christ, but was it enough for Christ instead of truly surrendering my identity to him, which is now where I'm at and what I think I'll be on the path of for a long time.

SPEAKER_02 14:14

So when you look at um, you know, there are obviously people listening in today to this podcast, and there could be people out there um going through some of the same struggles that you did. Maybe there's people out there, young adults, who've never even heard about the message of Jesus, and they wonder, well, why why would I do this? Why would I give my life to Jesus? Why would I believe in in God's word? You know, what what was what would the reasons be?

SPEAKER_01 14:45

What would you say to those people out there if you are in a place where you don't feel fulfilled by the world and you're chasing substances or you're chasing relationships to fill a hole in your life, it never works forever. But truly, if you give your life, instead of always trying to take something from someone else, take a substance into your life, instead of trying to bring everything into you, surrender your life out of humility, and it's hard. But try giving something up, really giving everything up, and letting him fulfill you that way. Because we're never gonna be able to do it through whatever we try on this earth, even if we have 15 great years, I would say everyone's gonna fail in a way that they can't rectify someday. But we know God will reconcile all things back to him, and we know that he stands firm on truth. And if you're you're listening today and you're you're lukewarm, you don't you don't know really what you believe, you were like me and you had grown up in it, or maybe you've just heard about it. I would like to give a little passage from Hebrews. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works. For me, that that's a pretty big summary of the gospel, is that we should have a confession of our hope without wavering. And now, without wavering doesn't mean not questioning and not having questions and doubts sometimes. But it's without trying to take things back from Jesus, still giving him everything. For he who promised is faithful. He is faithful, it's not all up to us. He he will provide those things.

SPEAKER_02 16:56

So, what excites you then about your faith now and what kind of things have God has God led you into now uh in your life at the present moment?

SPEAKER_01 17:05

I get real excited about evangelism. That that ministry to me is an amazing way to live out those words, uh to hold fast the confession of our hope. And our our hope is Jesus Christ and what he did, and that not only did he die for us, but then he rose again, beating death and beating sin and beating the attacks on us, the afflictions. He beat anxiety, he beat everything and having a confession of that hope. So for me, I get to go and confess that I'm saved, which is a pretty incredible thing.

SPEAKER_00 17:45

Yeah, even understanding that I didn't do anything to deserve that, but it's more incredible.

SPEAKER_02 17:54

I want to end just by asking a little bit about some of the ministry opportunities that you're involved in, because this is pretty recent in your life. You know, we talked about a year and a half ago coming from that place to a new relationship with Jesus, and he's obviously been pleased with wanting to use you into this new adventure. And so what excites you about some of the areas that he's placed you in in your in your life now?

SPEAKER_01 18:24

As I said before, I've always been a bit of a busybody. So I when I when I started serving, I started serving everywhere. Uh friend of mine, Joel, who I do believe will be speaking here, he he brought another buddy of mine and myself out to evangelize for the first time in October. And since then, I've been involved in evangelism. I started going to a Bible study, and I now speak at that Bible study on scripture, and I disciple people there, which again, if you're listening to my story, you're like, year and a half. What does he know? And that's all the spirit truly, and and and the spirit has given me discernment in those moments that I am not possible of coming up with. And I'm I became a youth leader, which was truly incredible. I had the opportunity to, in my grade 12 year, as I said, grow Christian, I had gone to youth group before, and one of my previous youth leaders said, Hey, we need people. Do you want to come? Not knowing where I was. And I would have said yes, but I had football every Thursday night, so I couldn't go. And as that opportunity ended, a year later, I reached out to him and I said, Hey, God's moving. I would love to sit down with you and talk about me becoming a youth leader because I still wanted accountability. I was like, if I'm not ready, I don't want to be, but I know they need people I don't want to serve. So I became a youth leader last year. I started evangelizing. We evangelize every single Friday. A couple weeks ago, we had 13 of us out on two of the main streets in our city of Calgary here. And it's just incredible to witness so many people eagerly serving the Lord, not out of obligation, but out of love, truly, for Jesus and understanding and having a confession for that same hope that I have and for the fulfillment that is in my life. And we have 30 young adults at this Bible study almost every week. There's another Bible study on Saturday nights we attend. I've gone to four different young adults, five different young adults this month. There are endless opportunities to get connected. And that second part of that verse I read in Hebrews 1024. Let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawing near. I truly wouldn't be here initially without someone stirring me up to love and good works. And I I wouldn't be here now without the community God has placed around me to continually do that and the accountability of pastors in my life at these churches and at these young adults. And truly, if you're if you're seeking Jesus and seeking people, we are we were never supposed to do this on our own.

SPEAKER_02 21:39

Right.

SPEAKER_01 21:39

Well, have Jesus with us, but I can't stress enough how much my brothers and sisters in Christ have blessed me and blessed me every single day, even if I don't know it.

SPEAKER_02 21:54

Oh, it's amazing, Jeremiah. Want to thank you for taking the time to uh be on flying leaves. And uh we're gonna have you back in a few months. I'm excited. And uh we can uh see where God has led you and where he's leading you, and uh it'll be fun to see where God takes you. And uh as always, we'll be praying for you. And uh, you're a very gifted and special person that God loves deeply, and we're thankful that uh that he's using you to serve him. So, on behalf of Flying Leaves, and I'm your host, Rick Berg. Thank you for joining us and Jeremiah today, and we'll talk to you soon. Take care.