Surely His love will come find us.

Have you ever been lost?

I’m not talking while navigating a new city or finding directions to a new place. I mean, lost … in a wilderness with no idea of where to turn?

I’ve been feeling a little lost in the trees lately. They are big, lurking trees like chronic pain, financial insecurity and a chasm of unanswered questions. I can’t seem to see the sky above me or the paths around me.

But, I want to fully trust God. Surely, He is here in the fogginess of my circumstances, right?

Today I was listening to my iPod as I sat in a waiting room for another appointment, feeling so fearful that there would be no answers behind this door either. My hands were even shaking, so before the professional called me in I needed to regain some perspective.

The song that played first was Multiplied by Needtobreathe. I’ve always pictured that song as a worship ballad.  But today God spoke the words to my heart in a slightly different tune.

Your love is like radiant diamonds
Bursting inside us we cannot contain
Your love will surely come find us
Like blazing wild fires singing Your name

Surely He can find us when we are lost in our wildernesses. Surely He will arrive like a a blazing fire that can be seen from miles away.

Surely.

If you google this band and this song you will find it is a song about how much God loves us and how much we wish we could offer something of great value back to Him. So Needtobreathe sings:

May this offering stretch across the skies
And these Hallelujahs be multiplied

And I think that is the true purpose of this song. And that is how I want to worship. However, if I believe in a God so big and so powerful with a love so strong and so mighty than surely, I believe, his love will come find me like a blazing fire in the wilderness

And for that reason … I praise Him today!

Romans 5:8 says, “but God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

While I was lost in the wilderness He brought a blazing sign of His tremendous love for me – His Son on a cross. And then His Son rose from the grave to prove that there is nothing in this life can ever separate me from Him.

And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love. No power in the sky above or in the earth below—indeed, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 8:38-39

Share with us your go-to song for encouragement. Whose lyrics remind you of God’s huge love for you today?

Do not let fear consume you …

Fear.

A four letter word.

A thorn in the side of so many.  A destroyer of dreams, plans, ideas, and hopes.

So God says fear not. Worry not.

Psalm 34:4 I sought the Lord, and he answered me and delivered me from all my fears.

Now there is some debate out there on how many times does it actually say that in Bible. You may have seen a meme around the internet claiming that “fear not” is listed 365 times in the bible. A “fear not” a day. Sounds so reassuring but many have argued it.

It doesn’t matter exactly how many times it is there. The importance is it is in there. Many times. Over and over again, some reference to you trusting God instead of fearing or worrying.

The Lord of Lord and King of Kings knew YOU would be afraid. And He knew you’d be afraid A LOT. So he repeated over and over again life-giving words to trust in Him and in His plan and in His purpose for you.

Now, I don’t know what you are afraid of. It might be tangible, gripping fear as you watch a loved one fight for their life through a fatal illness. It might be a nagging fear of losing your job as your company goes through restructuring talks. It might be an unsettling, keep-you-up-at-night kind of fear as you pray for a wayward son or daughter.

Or maybe it’s more personal one, like fear of being yourself, fear of losing yourself, fear of not knowing your true self.

For me … I have so many fears that plague my life that it would take days to write them all out here. All I know is that I live in a prison of fear. But today I am starting to see that the prison walls are of my own creation. That God never intended me to live like this. In fact He is slowly, gently calling me to peer over those high, seemingly immovable walls to see His face. To trust Him. To believe Him. To rest in Him.

I am learning to look at Him, my Heavenly Father and not at the circumstances or thoughts that are plaguing me. No matter what I am fearing He is there. God, my Rock is standing in the center of that specific “fear” waiting for me to notice Him. He IS the eye of my “storm”.

He wants me to be CONSUMED with Him, not my troubles. DROWNING in Him, not my worries. Completely OVERWHELMED by His presence not mine.

There is hope. Always hope.

So what do I to keep my eyes on God and not the big or small things tugging at my anxiety?

My first go to is always music. it calms me. It soothes me. It reminds me. And it teaches me. That is why I will always connect you to a song. It is my tin can and string connection right to my Heavenly Father. It is my Holy Hug!

Today I could direct to dozens of songs that keep my fear at bay but I will limit it to one.

Father Will You Come – Unhindered. (This is a youtube video made by the band. I apologize for any ads that precede the video. If you would prefer lyrics only go here.

 

Another way to combat the building, nagging prompts to fear is to connect to others in the same boat as you. Thankfully today the internet can connect you to even the smallest boat out there. Someone, somewhere is feeling what you are feeling and if you two connect suddenly life isn’t so lonely.

For me, I connect to other writers, other chronic pain sufferers, other moms and wives, and other ministry wives. These are my biggest circles of reach. Make sure you have people real or virtual that can inspire, encourage and even wag a finger at your naughty temptations to let fear win. Get connected and stay connected.

If any of my circles of reach speak to you, check out these links to blogs and sites I follow.

Writers – From Fear to Freedom – 9 Steps in 9 Years at Seekerville.

Chronic pain – Shipwrecked or Keeping up our Courage at Rest Ministries.

Moms – A Mom’s Greatest Fear at Lysa Terkeurst

Wives – The Spiritual Umbrella of Marriage at Gary Thomas

 

How do you fight the fear? Please comment below. Let’s talk.

A call out to the disappointed, the desperate and the done

Desperation has set in. It has dug deep its claws in my spirit with no signs of loosening its grip.

Have you used the cliche “when it rains, it pours”? It’s not a phrase I’ve used often, but lately I am feeling it. Why can’t it just drizzle in like a summer rain slipping between the rays of sunshine? Nope. Instead it must come as a deluge. A unrelenting storm.

Unrelenting. Merciless. Determined to destroy.

Yet.

I have been studying the names of God used throughout scripture. Today I want to share with you Yahweh Tsur. The Lord, my rock.  It is used twice in the Old Testament. First in Hannah’s heartfelt prayer in 1 Samuel 2:2. “There is no Tsur/rock like our God.”

However it is in the second appearance where we find the small fragments of faith our hearts long for. Let’s check out Psalm 144:1-2. (This link will take you to a bible app. You can select the version of your choice in the drop down menu below the scripture title.)

No matter which version you look at a picture emerges of the rock being strong and mighty providing safety, protection, and refuge. That reminds me of something …

“A wonderful Savior is Jesus my Lord, He taketh my burden away; He holdeth me up and I shall not be moved, He giveth me strength as my day.

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock that shadows a dry, thirsty land; He hideth my life in the depths of His love, and covers me there with His hand.”

Hopefully the picture forming in your mind is that no matter how much rain, or how hard it comes down I have a Strength that wraps around me, hovers over me. Keeps me safe.

There are two key passages in the Bible that paint a picture of the desperate and done. And each of them contain a vital component … a word that inspires hope and strength … a word that brings the sunshine through the clouds.

The first place to look is Lamentations. This is a particularly dark, dreary book as Jeremiah writes of the deep searing pain of loss and grief. Verse after verse laments over the desolation of Jerusalem, the desperate need for real repentance and the destruction of a people set apart for God. It gets pretty depressing.

But … or shall I say yet … there is a glimmer of hope. Jeremiah remembers the faithfulness of God.

Lam 3:21 – “Yet this I call to mind and therefore have hope: because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness.”

So whether you have the picture in your mind of a dark night, a dreary storm or an endless lament of all the bad things going on in your life, there is a morning. There is a break in the clouds. There is a reason to hope. God is faithful. And loving. And good.

Not to belabor the point too much I ask for you to allow me one more example. It is my favorite today while I whittle away in the dark of my own desperation. I found another yet verse about Yahweh Tsur, the Lord my Rock.

Habbakkuk 3:17-19. (The link will open up the verse and you can select any version you would prefer to use by clicking on the drop down arrow below the scripture title.) But let me sum it up like this …

It is bleak. It is dreary. And the downpour of frustrating trials seems like it will never end … “yet will I rejoice in the Lord. I will be joyful in the God of my salvation. The Sovereign Lord is my strength. He will make me as surefooted as a deer and bring me safely over the mountain.” 

Praise be to Yahweh Tsur, the Lord my Rock.

Need a lift? Why not checking out Alive by All Sons and Daughters. “This is a call to all the dead and disappointed…”

Feel free to leave a comment of other songs that have been a “yet” in your dreary day. May it encourage someone else.

(Photo of rock formation courtesy of Pixabay free images.)

 

You gave me a song to sing!

When God urged me to start writing, I felt inadequate and unprepared. I worked in a library surrounded by thousands of books. I knew full well, our small town library no where near housed all the books that were out there. Barely a drop in the bucket, so to speak. The math overwhelmed me. Millions of authors. Billions of books. And endless, eternal slush piles of authors who wanted to have books on the shelves. Why me? Why little insignificant me?

With my small chunk of broken faith I pressed the Lord for some kind of confirmation. Some kind of rain drops on fleece.

Yahweh-Yireh. The Lord provided. He gave me a song. For each story I have written since that day, there is always a song that plays a key role in my journey and the journey of the characters. I love this.

Not only does it make my stories unique, but God knew my heart so intimately. He knew how lyrics and song impact my life on a daily basis. Music is my lifeline to my faith. To my inner struggle. And to my hope.

Having a song for every story has become my silent testimony of God’s goodness to me. Like our little secret. (Only it isn’t very secret because if you read my books you will know the song He gave me.)

So, as an invitation to my new blogging world and the first stepping stone to getting to know me and my writing I have a song for you. The first of many.

Manic Drive – Song to Sing. (Unable to find a legal copy that I can play for you here. Please google it and listen to the song on your own.)