Blessings

When friends betray us

When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise -Laura Story, Blessings

I first heard the song Blessings over a year ago when my mom had me listen to it. (If you have never heard this song, I recommend clicking on the heart at the bottom of this post.) I sat broken hearted, crying as I absorbed each word.  The words screamed out that this is my life.  I identified with every line. The hurt and the loneliness were too much but I listened anyway. I soaked up every word and allowed God to record each of my tears into His jar marked with my name.  I gave my broken heart to Him.

Recently, I chose to listen to this song after a year of purposely staying away. As I listened to the words, I was reminded all over more of the enormous hurting I experienced. I reread the words of the song. As each word filled my lips, I revisited every moment of heartache over the past few years and reflected on exactly how far God brought me.  No one ever knows what it is like to walk in another person’s shoes.  No two people ever experience the same kind of pain but pain is pain nonetheless.  I am learning to be thankful for my pain.  I am learning that every moment of pain I experienced was God doing a work within my life in some form or another.  Each moment of loneliness was a reminder that He is the only Living Water that can quench my thirst. Each moment of pain was a reminder that He is the only source of healing for my broken heart. Each moment of defeat was a reminder that there is something out there so much greater than I am and He DOES have a purpose for my life.  What a blessing that I can cling His truth, His promises and hold out hope that through every heartache and storm, His mercies are new every morning though they might just be in disguise. 

“Blessings”

We pray for blessings
We pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering

All the while,
You hear each spoken need
Yet love is way too much to give us lesser things

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom
Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness,
We doubt your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enough

All the while,
You hear each desperate plea
And long that we’d have faith to believe

‘Cause what if your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You’re near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not our home
What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can’t satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

Follow Me!

Follow?  What does it mean to follow Jesus?  Sometimes I forget just how simple and sinful the men were whom Jesus asked to follow Him.  I live a stone’s throw from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.  When I moved to this area ten years ago, all of the seminary students that surrounded me intimidated me.  I felt inferior to them in every way.  They sat in front of Bible scholars and professors while their minds were filled daily with extraordinary theology.  They definitely knew more than I did.  They definitely had to know God more intimately.

Is it not crazy the way in which our mind works?  Those thoughts could not have been further from the truth.  Yes, they are getting an education but they are not establishing a direct line to God that I cannot have myself.  Though it may feel that way at times, the truth of the matter is that Jesus did not call the great theologians of His time to follow Him.  He called the simple and sinful men to be “fishers of men”.  What a revelation.

 

Following Jesus means realizing who He is and being willing to trust Him enough to let go of everything else we know to be true. It is choosing to follow Him. It is recognizing that by choosing to follow Him is a true commitment to pursue His destiny for our lives instead of the destiny that we have planned in our heads.  To follow Him is a radical commitment and when we make that choice, it will forever change the way we see the world and the way in which we live out our life.