Weaver expressed that Jay was his “best friend on this planet,” apart from his wife and that when he is reminded of the reality of his death, it “hurts so bad.”
“But in the midst of it, I gotta tell you, when I think about the fact that he’s not hurting anymore, I feel like I can take that pain for a little while,” Weaver said, going on to tell a story of how Jay’s faith in the midst of his pain had impacted a former pastor they had met on tour.
At the time, Jay was no longer playing with the band because of the severity of his condition, but continued to travel with them. He also had a regular practice of praying over every individual chair in a venue before the band played a show, asking that God would move in the lives of the people that would sit there.
On one occasion, as Jay had finished praying, he headed backstage, passing by Mike, who was on his way to a Q&A session with fans. During the session, a former pastor shared a story about how someone under his care had lost their life during a church event. As a result, the pastor eventually walked away from his faith. After sharing, the former pastor then asked Mike to share his story.
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In response, Mike talked about his brother Jay, who at the time, was in a wheelchair, had failing eyesight, was missing some fingers, and was in a great deal of pain. And even in the face of those challenges, Jay’s faith and joy were as strong as ever.
“So we go on, and we trust the Lord,” Weaver told the former pastor. In response, the man said, “You know, my B.S. meter is pretty good, but I think I believe your story.”
After the Q&A session, Mike shared about the exchange with Jay, at which point Jay asked for Mike to point him out in the crowd. When Jay saw the man, he started crying. He then told Mike that God had shown him the man’s face earlier while he was praying.
During the performance, Mike saw the former pastor watching Jay worship with his hands raised. Later, Mike noticed that the man was doing the same.
After the show, security alerted the band that the man was in their dressing room. As Jay rolled into the room, the man demanded to know why Jay didn’t hate God.
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