A HOPEFUL PERSPECTIVE

     Looking at His past faithfulness will remind us of the goodness of our Lord. Looking at our blessings from Him will allow us to say, “You have been faithful in the past and I trust You.”

     God gave Abraham a son. God led His people out from under Pharaoh. He sent His only son. He fed 5,000 people. He died on a cross. He rose from the dead. He has been faithful in history.

     The Lord gave me an amazing family. He gave me amazing friends. He led me to Colorado State. He has forgiven me. He has been kind to me. He has given me abundantly more than I can imagine. He has been faithful to me.

     Because of his faithfulness I get to have a hopeful perspective. When I remember his past faithfulness I am reminded of who my God is. Israel got in trouble when they forgot God’s power. Every day I forget God’s power. Every. Day. And He is still faithful. I complain against my Creator every day. Every. Day. And yet, He is good to me.

     What the heck!? How crazy and powerfully awesome. When I get this kind of hopeful perspective I can try to clearly see why the Lord has led me into the wilderness. I can try to clearly see how he is forging my character. I can remember that I trust Him because He is faithful. I can freely be courageous in everyday life because I know that my Father in heaven is in control. He is what I hope in and He alone is enough.

THOUGH YOU SLAY ME:

I come, God I come    
I return to the Lord
The one who's broken
The one who's torn me apart
You struck down to bind me up
You say You do it all in love
That I might know You in Your suffering

Though You slay me
Yet I will praise You
Though You take from me
I will bless Your name
Though You ruin me
Still I will worship
Sing a song to the one who's all I need

My heart and flesh may fail
The earth below give way
But with my eyes, with my eyes I'll see the Lord
Lifted high on that day
Behold, the Lamb that was slain
And I'll know every tear was worth it all

Though tonight I'm crying out
Let this cup pass from me now
You're still all that I need
You're enough for me
You're enough for me

(though you slay me by Shane & Shane)

  

Songs are so powerful to me. I am moved by how much a song can fit into my life and point me to Christ. Today was full of pain. My heart hurts. All I want is for Jesus to calm the storm. In Mark 4 when Jesus and His disciples are in a boat and the storm is raging His disciples ask him “Do you not care if we drown?” This is how I feel. It is like I am surfing and I cant get past the break of the waves, I am paddling as hard as I can and yet I keep getting hit by the waves and I feel like I am going to drown, so I cry out to The Lord and I know that He will rescue me but it does not feel this way. I feel like I can’t take one more wave to the face. All I want is for Him to calm the storm. I want peace, I want hope, and I want to be able to see goodness around me. I don’t want to focus on the waves; I want to focus on Him. He is for me He loves me. This is truth. In this song John Piper talks about pain. He says that affliction is momentary-hope. It is all totally meaningful; every millisecond of this pain and misery in the path of obedience is producing glory. It is not meaningless it is doing something. It is working for me. I will not lose heart. I will take truths and day-by-day focus on them, and one day I will be able to sing again with confidence that I am new and cared for. I will praise Him, and I will know that every tear was worth it. He is all that I need, He will calm the storm and I will wait.