Whenever you see Isaiah Shultz around church, at work, or hanging out with his friends, you’ll notice his bracelet. It has a simple question inscribed on it – “What has Jesus done?”
The bracelet was a gift from his close friend and roommate, marking a pivotal moment in Isaiah’s life: October 30, 2022, the day of his baptism.
Isaiah grew up in a Christian environment. His parents raised him in a Christian home. He was in the pews every Sunday and in the youth group every Wednesday night. But as he got into his high school years, the inevitable began to happen. He stopped attending church and started drifting away. It was inevitable for Isaiah because while he had always been around Christian things, it had never been real to him.
“I claimed the faith,” Isaiah reflects. “But I didn’t walk out that faith. It led me to this really dark place.”
In other words, he knew how to act like a Christian, even though he never believed it in his heart. By the time he was old enough to decide for himself whether or not he would keep up the act, he chose to drop the facade of Christianity altogether.
Isaiah remembers, “Throughout my life, I wanted acceptance from others.”
That drive for acceptance would lead him down some dangerous roads. He found himself at parties where the alcohol was flowing. He searched for girls on dating apps, looking for something that felt real. He was drawn to these places for what they promised: acceptance, inclusion, and belonging. As he continued down those roads, it felt increasingly normal, but it also felt lonely. Ironically, the acceptance he was pursuing never felt attainable. Isolation crept in, and eventually depression. There was no satisfaction and life kept getting darker.
“I kept thinking, ‘I’m alone in this.’”
After graduation, Isaiah took a job at a nearby Chick-fil-A, working for a guy named Joel Upton. Joel would become both a friend and Isaiah’s roommate. He invited Isaiah to Providence Young Adults (PYA) on Tuesdays, and Isaiah reluctantly agreed. He liked the environment and enjoyed the people, but he wasn’t interested in committing to anything. He’d attend for a few weeks, then disappear.
“Honestly, I was running from God,” Isaiah admits. “I loved my sin more than I loved anything else.”
But Joel kept lovingly inviting him. When Isaiah stopped attending, Joel kept pressing. Eventually, he came back one week when Thomas Maurer was teaching from Romans 12:2. Despite having been in churches his entire life, Isaiah heard the message that night with new ears.
Paul writes in the verse, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”
For the first time, everything finally made sense. It was as if God was speaking directly to him. Isaiah recognized that he had spent his entire life conforming to the world around him and pursuing acceptance, but he always came up empty. He was longing to be filled.
When Isaiah finally surrendered his life to Christ, he felt an instant change. The pressure to conform was gone because the need for acceptance was gone. He already had that in Jesus. The emptiness was filled with joy.
“When you allow God to really embrace you – when you lay down your own life and accept the one he paid for – everything changes.”
He started taking some classes at the church, became a member, and got plugged into small groups where he was known and could truly know others. As part of it all, he felt God calling him to step forward in baptism.
On October 30, Providence celebrated the opening of the new pavilion with a large outdoor worship service. As part of the festivities, Isaiah was scheduled to be baptized. As he went up to read his testimony in front of the church, he looked out to a sea of familiar faces. His mom, who prayed for 11 years that Isaiah would surrender his life to Christ, was sitting there with joy all over her face. His friends from PYA were there to cheer him on. And Joel, who had been so loving and persistent throughout that season in Isaiah’s life, was there to baptize him.
As he came up out of the water, the joy in Isaiah’s heart could not be contained. The baptism symbolized a shift in his story. The life he had been living was buried with Christ. A new life, paid for by Jesus Christ on the cross, had begun. That day, Joel gave him the bracelet as a constant reminder of this transformation: “What has Jesus done?” While Isaiah realizes that his old life is now surrendered, it was worth it for the life he gained in its place.
Isaiah’s story is ultimately one of God’s faithfulness. It serves as a reminder of his patient, consistent pursuit of each of us, even when we’re running from him. “It’s not about me,” Isaiah reflects. “It’s about what God did for me.”
Special thanks to Jen Beasley for her interview with Isaiah and her contribution to this story.
