From Mourning to Morning

In Psalm 57, David is in the midst of difficult times. Trouble surrounds him and he has nowhere to turn except God. Anointed as the rightful king of Israel but waiting on God's timing, David is pursued by Saul through the desert again and again, day after day. "My soul is among lions," he says. "I must lie among those who breathe forth fire, even the sons of men, whose teeth are spears and arrows and their tongue a sharp sword" (verse 4).

David's first thought is not to focus on himself but rather to exalt God. How easy would it be to curse God for orchestrating where he finds himself? Does not God make everything come to pass? Could not God have kept David from hardship and danger? Why doesn't God make David king now instead of later? But David doesn't take this path, perhaps because he's already been there time and time again and it has become part of his character to respond in this manner to God. He's already tended his father's flocks and protected them from the bears and lions. He's already slain Goliath, armored and protected by the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel. But whatever the reason, instead of lashing out and losing faith, David praises God. "Be exalted above the heavens, O god; Let Your glory be above all the earth" (v 5).

David is prepared to wait for what God has in store for him, and joyfully at that. "My heart is steadfast, O God, my heart is steadfast; I will sing, yes I will sing praises" he proclaims (v 7). Nothing can move his heart and steal the faith and joy he finds in trusting the Lord. Nothing can keep him from singing out the praises of the God who has been with him and who promises such good things to him.

David's heart literally overflows with praise for God and he cannot contain it. This is my favorite part of the Psalm-David stirs his heart and soul in a jubilant cry of praise and exaltation. "Awake, my glory! Awake, harp and lyre! I will awaken the dawn" (v 8, emphasis mine). David sings in the dark of night, ushering in the morning with his strains of melodic praise. How can David sing so jubilantly? How, when it's so dark all around him, can he eagerly expect the breaking of the dawn? The answer is that the morning symbolizes God's continual faithfulness and love for us.

There's an old adage that says it's always darkest just before the dawn. David therefore sees the growing darkness around him as just a precursor to God's glory breaking through. The current troubles are just a prelude to God's might and power displayed for all to see. The darker it gets around him and around us, the brighter God's glory will be when He acts. And the morning is coming-there's no way to stop it!

David sings a song of Truth and a song of Hope-he knows the end, and so do we. Let us therefore sing along with him, extolling the Lord our God even (especially) when we don't even have enough light to see.

"For His anger is but for a moment,

His favor is for a lifetime;

Weeping may last for the night,

But a shout of joy comes in the morning."

~Psalm 30:5

Break My Heart for What Breaks Yours

Last night some friends and I saw Fee, Family Force Five, David Crowder Band, and MercyMe (there were a few other acts too) in concert. It was an amazing time, although I wish that Fee had not opened but played longer instead and that David Crowder had headlined. But that's neither here nor there. What really stands out to me is the worship.

There were two distinct moments during David Crowder's set that stand out to me. I didn't expect this to be a necessarily profound time of worship-just a regular concert of sorts. I am a fan of David Crowder, but wouldn't consider the band to be in my top 5 of either straight up worship bands or bands in general.

As expected, they played their cover of "How He Loves." While it was John Mark Macmillan that wrote the song and Kim Walker that started popularizing it, it's David Crowder that's responsible for really bringing this powerful song to the forefront of contemporary praise music and onto the lips of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people worldwide.

This is not a song that I particularly enjoyed before tonight. In part this is due to a small change from the original lyrics, but overall I just didn't consider it that great or interesting of a song. I remember hearing a ton of people really talk the song up and then listening to it for the first time and thinking "Really? This is the song?"

Tonight was different. I didn't notice it as first as they sang through the first verse and I sang along. But somewhere between the first and second times through the chorus and in between me singing the lyrics and thinking about them, a light came on. A huge, blinding, burning light that shone intensely through me, illuminating the enormity of my sin, my failure, my depravity, and my fallenness. This came up against the sheer magnitude of God, His love for me, and His methods (literally How He Loves). The Unstoppable Force collided with the Object Immovable Save by One...and prevailed.

My heart broke within me at the same moment that my voice failed, both suddenly shattered and gone. Tears seeped slowly out the corners of my eyes and down my cheeks as I mouthed the words to the chorus, still searching for a voice and a heart that had disintegrated with no warning. Slowly I gathered up the pieces and my voice returned along with my composure. But the effect of that moment lingered. That glimpse of understanding tarried long after my cheeks dried.

The same thing happened during one of their later songs. As I sang the words "O praise Him / He is holy" the same emotions washed over me, leaving me clinging to the truth of God's love for me for support and for sanity.

My eyes and my mind were opened just a fraction of a fraction to the grandeur and weight of God's love for me, and it wrecked me. God, remind me again and again of the cost of Your love and help me to live in light of it, not in spite of it. Help me to remember You always and forever. Remind me of how You loved me in the past and how you continue to do so today and forevermore. Help me, God. Help me.

Phenominal Cosmic Power...Itty-Bitty living space.

“For God knows that in the day you eat from it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” Genesis 3:5


As I read through Satan's temptation of Eve, I had a thought that I'd never considered before that was prompted by a note in my study bible. Whenever I'd previously thought about the Fall and Eve's sin in particular (as separate from and distinct from Adam's sin), the idea of wanting to be like God had always been lumped in there with the sinful thoughts. After all, that was Satan's original sin of rebellion, right? However, I realized today that that wasn't Eve's sin.


It's not wrong to want to be like God. In the long run, it's the whole goal of sanctification.


I'll say it again: it's NOT wrong to want to be like God.

Now let me clarify: Eve DID sin. But it wasn't her desire to be like God that was so wrong. It was her chosen method of accomplishing it. By directly violating God's command, Eve chose to attempt to elevate herself to a status that wasn't hers to take. While we are made in God's image, it's HIS place to decide for us what is best and our place to submit to that.

Living in a fallen world where we aren't even close to the perfection that Adam and Eve experienced for a brief while, it's even more important for us to want to be like God. But we need to be wary of Eve's mistake-there's no way that WE can do it ourselves, even if it seems as easy as reaching out and taking a bite. The good work of sanctification is GOD's to complete, not ours.


God, give me a desire to be like You but also a willingness to let You do the work and not to try to achieve it on my own.

Hope Fulfilled

Less than nine weeks and then I walk across a stage, shake a few hands, and many different things that I've been waiting for move from the "not yet" to the "now." Needless to say, I'm excited! :) This past year has taught me a TON about the nature of waiting and hoping. Psalm 39:7 has become sort of a theme verse for this year: "And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You."

However, days like today remind me that there's much more to learn about the nature of waiting and hoping than I could ever learn in a year. Easter Sunday marks the fulfillment of THOUSANDS of years of waiting and hoping by humankind stretching back all the way to Genesis 3 where God promises Eve a descendant that will crush the serpent underfoot. But even with those millennia to learn, most of the Israelites STILL missed the point.


God, help me to wait on, in, and for You alone and not to miss the point or pass by the fruits of my patience when they come my way.

Top 10 Worship-circa April 2010

I was going through my playlists on iTunes, getting rid of the ones that were old or I didn't want/need anymore, when the inspiration came to rank my top 10 worship songs. So here goes: my 10 favorite (contemporary) worship songs as of now:


1. Only You Can Satisfy-Caleb Clements
2. With Everything-Joel Houston
3. From the Inside Out (Everlasting)-Joel Houston
4. Oh Lord, You're Beautiful-Keith Green
5. My Soul Sings-Martin Smith
6. Mighty To Save-Reuben Morgan
7. Lead Me to the Cross-Brooke Fraser
8. The Stand-Joel Houston
9. Your Love Never Fails-Chris Mcclarney
10. Cannons-Phil Wickham


Runners-up: Hosanna-Brooke Fraser, Glory to God Forever-Fee, Glory in the Highest-Al Gordon



I think it's pretty easy to spot that Hillsong DOMINATES the list, grabbing half of the top spots! What do you think? Which of YOUR favorite songs are missing from the list? Which ones haven't you heard before? etc.

Done

It is currently 12:47 am. I have a 4 page paper due at 2 pm today (monday). I have not started it. I love college (but am definitely ready to not have papers due anymore).

Philippians 3:17, or Follow My Example

I've found myself reading most of Paul's letters and the book of Acts through my personal devotional time, at Navs, for Sons of Thunder, and the Bible study I'm leading. What's slowly but steadily emerging is an ever-clearer vision and understanding of Paul's heart. There are simply no words that can describe the depth of the desire I have to love Christ even just half as much as Paul did.

In Acts 21 Paul's friends and followers are pleading with him not to continue on to Jerusalem because they're almost certain he'll be arrested or worse. Luke records in verse 12: "When we had heard this, we as well as the local residents began begging him not to go up to Jerusalem." Paul's response in verse 13 to their entreaties almost brings me to tears:

"Then Paul answered 'What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.'"

What a heart for Christ! As I've been gaining this insight into Paul's heart and thoughts I've really begun to identify with Paul. More than any other character in the Old or New Testament, I feel a connection with Paul. This is NOT to say that I view myself as a master evangelist or anything. Paul just resonates with me.


Who do you identify with? I have three close friends whose answers would be Jacob, Peter, and David, and I sometimes enjoy viewing them in light of that revelation. What about you-who is it that you can point to and say "That's who I feel most like or closest to"?