September 7, 2024 | CHURCH PICNIC SONG LYRICS

In the thick of classes, homework, and projects there were times where I felt completely overwhelmed and like this stage of life would never be over. While expressing some of these feelings to a cousin of mine, she shared this song and these words with me: “I am praying for you, that you would be able to find rest in Him during this crazy season, and that His presence would bring peace and strength to your heart for every day, every assignment, every paper, every task at work. He is faithful, He is rest, He is the anchor, the victory, our strength.” This message brought a flood of tears, it was just what I needed to hear, and this song brought me the comfort that I was seeking in a time of feeling so overwhelmed. It reminded me to lean into Jesus, hold onto Him, and “take delight in the Lord, and he will give [me] the desires of [my] heart”. Psalm 37:4

Here’s my heart Lord, speak what is true. I see this song as a prayer of redirection. As followers of Christ we need to be disciplined about reminding ourselves of the joy that we have in Him. We must not forget about the good things that He has already done in our day-to-day lives, yet keeping in mind that while we we’re still sinners, he died for us. Living a life for Christ means picking up our bibles and refocusing our hearts toward the One who we claim to be living for. We all too often become lost and hopeless when we try to live our lives without focusing on Jesus. We become misguided and are easily manipulated into self-centeredness as the world constantly urges us to put ourselves first. In the words of Timothy Keller, “A broken and contrite heart is a heart that knows how little it deserves yet how much it has received. To know only the first truth [how little we deserve] is to be self loathing, to know only the second [how much we have received]– is to be self satisfied, [yet] both kinds of hearts will be self absorbed.” Redirecting our hearts upward toward God frees us from our narcissistic tendencies of looking only at ourselves and our own desires, and instead becomes our inspiration to bring praise and thanksgiving to God for what He has already given to us. Psalm 51:12 pleads for God to “restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me.” Cultivating the habit of redirecting our minds to Christ will result in a renewed joy and a sustained spirit.

The past two years have been particularly challenging for me as I have wrestled with unanswered questions about God’s timing and leading. Why does he choose to close some doors? Why doesn’t healing come? Why does there have to be so much brokenness? Why can’t answers about direction be clearer? This might be a little ambiguous, but I’m sure you can fill in your own circumstance that has caused you to ask these, or similar questions.

I have cried out to God many times in this season. I’ve asked him for answers, I’ve asked for him to meet me in my pain, and I’ve asked him to meet others in their pain. To be honest, in the thick of this season I felt so alone. God did not meet me in the way that I wanted or expected. I didn’t feel an overwhelming sense of his presence that some people experience in situations of pain. I felt I could not see where he was in my circumstance.

Good thing God’s action and presence is not dependent on my feelings! The truth is that he is always present and always at work even if I don’t see it or feel it. This song was such an encouragement to me in this season, because at times I felt I could not say with full faith that God was present or working. But when I’d listen to this song, the band saying those words was enough for me to hang on to.

As I look back over the last two years, one way that I now see that God was working in my life was through other people. I expected God to show up in different ways, but he chose to manifest his presence through family and friends being there for me. Even when I did not see or feel that God was working, he was.

This has caused me to reflect on the amount of times that people in scripture must have had times of wondering where God was and what he was doing! When I read scripture, I sometimes forget the amount of time that passes between events. I don’t always put myself in the shoes of the people. But when I do put myself in their shoes I see:

Sarah and Abraham waiting for a promised child.

David, anointed as king, but waiting for God’s timing to become king – meanwhile being chased by Saul.

Mary the mother of Jesus, and all of Jesus’ disciples watching their son, friend, and Lord die on the cross.

I imagine there were many questions: God, what are you doing? Where are you? Why is this happening? This can’t be part of your plan! And yet, in time we start to see how God always knew what he was doing, and our life events somehow work together for our good and His glory.

So, whatever your current circumstance is, know that God is working in it even if you can’t seem to see or feel any evidence of that.

As staff, we have been brainstorming how our church can continue to be a source of encouragement to you online. One way we have decided to do this is through the Song Lyrics Project. Each week we will post a song with an explanation of why it is meaningful to one of our church members, along with a link so you can go listen to it. Our first post is from Living Hope’s worship coordinator, Lena Blain.

“You Make Beautiful Things Out of the Dust”

As the world has come together in a time of crisis, the church has united in prayer and worship to bless our communities around the world in the Name of Jesus. With one voice, this is our prayer over Canada.

Other churches all over the world are doing the same! Here’s what South Africa has to say: “During the April 2020 lockdown people from across South Africa united to sing a blessing over our nation. The heart of this is to bless you – to give you hope and peace! Sing this in your homes, proclaim it over you family, your community, your city, your province.”

This song here is what may be labeled as an anthem for every Christian on this planet!
Every line clearly grabs your attention and can be easily linked to numerous verses from the Bible. A few texts that come to mind are: Galatians 2:20, 2 Corinthians 12: 9-10, and Philippians 1:6. He himself is within us, leading us home, step by step!
Something that helps me remember that I cannot do things on my own, but that it is Christ in me that helps motivate me to get up every morning, is whenever I see an inflatable air dancer. Those dancers have air blowing through them all day long. They appear to fall over constantly, but there’s always a gust of air that gets them to stand up straight again and again. That constant air flow is like Christ living in all of us! May we all continue to sing praises to our God through our lips, during and even after our race is complete!