2 posts in ONE day! Making up for lost time....:)
I have been on a real journey with the Lord lately in the area of trusting Him way down deep...to the point where my circumstances do not effect my outlook, my peace, my joy and what I know to be true.
That is the journey I am on with Him right now. Here is one thing Darlene Zschech said that kinda sums up what I am talking about.."In your saddest times, hardest times, most desperate times… you need to say, ‘the Lord is great!’… for this Truth will never change. If you are feeling the stretch… remind yourself to say…“The Lord IS Great!!” This is a great life key…… never let it go!!"
Awesome.
I am learning to take the stance in my life that no matter what comes my way, or what is thrown at me..I will praise the Lord. Because who He is and His heart toward me doesn't ever change. Even when my circumstances may feel devastating or out of control...He is still good, He is still in control, He is still working all things together for my good. My faith is not based on what I can see in the natural, it's based on knowing the character of the God I serve, the God who loves me so dearly. I desire to get to a place where my joy is as consistent in times of great victory, abundance and success as it is in times of seeming despair, chaos and loss. And it can be that way... because the truth of who God is will not change, does not change, and I KNOW he will see me through and He will take care of me and meet my needs. My joy, my response, and my praise of Him should never be dependent on my circumstances. I will rejoice in the Lord always, I will continue to bless His name at all times, His praise will continually be on my mouth. Even in the midst of hard and dark times, I will not give in and quit....I know my God and I know His heart for me. That is the journey I am on...learning to bless the Lord no matter what. I am determined to see His purposes accomplished.
Sometimes when I am leading worship something happens the day or so before that leaves me feeling a bit defeated or discouraged. The last thing I feel like doing is standing on that stage, rejoicing in the Lord, singing His praises, and leading His people in worship. I laugh sometimes with the Lord, because something will come at me just before I have to lead and I'm like "Are you kidding Lord..you called ME to do this..are you sure? There must be someone better for the job." :) When you are struggling or hurting or feel defeated, the last thing you want to do as stand up before the church and lead them in worship. It seems so absurd! :) Aren't those people who lead in church supposed to have it all together?! Nope. God loves to work that way doesn't He...he doesn't work on our limited logic. Through this season I have learned the power of praising God in the midst of hard times. It's a beautiful thing. Your circumstances may not instantly change, but you will. When you take your eyes off yourself and your situations and put them back on Jesus and offer all you are and have in worship to Him....you change. I have learned to rejoice in the Lord when nothing around me appears to be worthy of rejoicing. There is great power in that. I feel my outlook and perspective begin to change even when my circumstances haven't.
I shared a bit of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego with the church yesterday. Those men knew their God, their hope was in Him, they were extravagant worshippers. They took the stance of, "Do what you will to us, take your best shot..we will never stop praising our God." Most know the story... the king threw them in a furnace and they just continued praising God., and were not touched by the fire. They refused to give in to the trial, the hard time, the appearance of defeat, the threat of death. Through their story, I am reminded that no matter what comes my way I will sing the praises of the Lord, I will rejoice in Him always, my circumstances will not dictate my worship of The Lord. His praise will continually be on my mouth. I am determined to bless the Lord no matter what, and shout out His praise in the midst of all things. So be it! :)
posted by Cagle Clan @ 12:11 PM
4 Comments:
What you are talking about here is so what Derrick and I both had to do when he was in the hospital. I remember walking out the doors of Harborview towards the helicopter pad, by myself. I remember looking at a helicopter coming in and I almost fainted.(flashback to Derrick happened it was very overwhleming) At that moment I was filled with anger, for a split second I said, I don't want to serve you if this is what I get. Then a second later I said this time outloud, no I will always praise you. No matter what, if Derrick doesn't wake up (he was still in the coma) I will still praise you. At that point is when my faith became strong. I will always praise God no matter the storm around me. Finances, death, strokes, tumors, cancer, heart attack no matter what has happened to us (all of the formentioned we have been attacked with in the past) we will always praise and serve God. Although I must admit having a good attitude while doing it can be a challenge, but when you KNOW that God has a master plan, then you can't be upset. We should praise God for he is always worthy to be praised. OK, I am startign to babble - so anyway - I like what you said!
Jess, what a perfect post for me to read. I have watched three different friends go through some really awful things these last few weeks and even though it hasn't affected me personally I have had to remind myself God is so much bigger than us. It's so hard to know what to say to someone who has just lost their best friend or their child. It doesn't seem fair that life could be taken away so quickly. It seems so easy to question why God would allow something like this to happen? It isn't fair and yet I know that God is a God of love and faithfulness. I too could babble on and on but I just wanted to let you know your post was just what I needed! Thanks.
I love this post. I have read through it several times now! With the journey that God has put me on with my husband's car accident ~ both the external things that I have shared on our site that we have been going through as well as the internal struggles I have been dealing with, this just really speaks to my heart.
Yes Em..I thought about you and D as I was writing and I thought about that song "Praise You In the Storm". :)
Laura, I am so glad the Lord was able to comfort you, strengthen you, and minister to you through this post. I have not experienced pain like what you are speaking of, I can't imagine anything worse then what your friends are going through. But that is the amazing thing about the principles of God...they work the same in the most devastating issues of life as they do in the smallest of issues.
Rachel, I am blessed to hear that. I think of you and Randy everyday. I have such a deep sense that God will 100% work this out for your good and for your benefit. Like I said on your blog, God is a restorer of hearts, minds and lives. He doesn't do partial work either. He promises to fully finish what He starts.
And to everyone..just for the record..I am the Queen of babble..so please, feel FREE to babble away on my blog anytime! That is what it's for! :)
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