Unshakable Things Worth Repeating

O God, my heart is steadfast, in the confidence of faith; I will sing, yes, I will sing praises, even with all the faculties and powers of one created in Your image… For Your mercy and loving-kindness are great and high as the heavens. Your truth and faithfulness reach to the skies!”—Psalm 108:1, 4 Amplified

No matter how crazy and uncertain things may get during any given day or week, there is power and hope in following the psalmist’s lead and regularly speaking out some unshakable things:

God’s MERCY is poured out to us daily

God’s LOVING-KINDNESS is relentlessly embracing us

God’s TRUTH is ready to break through to stabilize and drive us forward, and

God’s FAITHFULNESS is behind us, ahead of us, all around us, and living through us.

What could be better news than that? But wait...“I will sing, yes, I will sing praises…” Once is good, but the psalmist is on to something here: more is better! Because even unshakable things spoken, and unshakable things internalized only once may not immediately quell low energy or mood that, on their own, would rather not even hum a few bars. But say them again, think them again, choose to believe it all again, and something miraculous begins to occur:

The pity party leaves the building—the building that is you. And in its place, God’s power and love begin to once more fill the void like waves at high tide, reminding your soul for the umpteenth time that they are as enormous as He promised they would be.

The power is not in the song, or in the shout, or in the verbalization. The power of praise is in the Truth and faith behind it all (even weak faith), believing without necessarily “feeling it,”  and in choosing to declare to the enemies of doubt, confusion, and whatever else tries to knock us on our keister that “…though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet!” 

If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice
I’ll hold on to what is true though I cannot see
If the storms of life they come and the road ahead gets steep
I will lift these hands in faith
I will believe
I remind myself of all that You’ve done
And the life I have because of Your Son...

("Love Came Down" - Brian Johnson)

Above and Beyond the Noise

Praise the Lord from the earth,
    you large sea animals and all the oceans,
lightning and hail, snow and mist,
    and stormy winds that obey him,
mountains and all hills,
    fruit trees and all cedars,
wild animals and all cattle,
    crawling animals and birds,
kings of the earth and all nations,
    princes and all rulers of the earth,
young men and women,
    old people and children.

Praise the Lord,
    because he alone is great.
    He is more wonderful than heaven and earth.

—Psalm 148: 7-13, New Century Version

When you live in the country, it’s pretty easy to climb onto the set of Psalm 148. The writer heads to the great outdoors to get perspective. And peace and quiet. Looks like a good hike or a long walk. Perhaps the world around him has gone as mad as ours. Just…walk…away for a moment and head to Reality. The steps become more labored, but the heart is pounding hard only because the vista ahead is so spectacular.  The rock he chooses for a breather is living on the edge a bit, but then that’s pretty appropriate. And in his back pocket, a dog-eared notebook. Slowly, he looks all around and above, then back all around, perhaps especially within, and passes on wisdom for the ages…

“Who made all of this? Wait, I know! Surely, nothing so magnificent just explodes onto the scene.

And yet how could there be such beauty...so constant, and yet some of it changing every minute or day as though with a swipe of a high-definition celestial paint brush?

Who does that?! Wait, I know!

Everywhere I look: Perfection—the uniqueness of every tree leaf, every flower and blade of grass, and every bird's song.

Even the trees sway in rhythm when the wind blows.

Life’s chaos and uncertainties may be pounding on the door for my attention

But here, I see only Reality once more, and true peace and security symbolized in all that You have made…’He put them in place forever and ever; He made a law that will never change.’

Isaiah was right: In quietness and trust is Your rest, indeed.

Out here, I think I finally see and understand why You loved Enoch.

You may have had very little to say about him, but what You did say was a clarion call:

A man who undertook a simple walk of quiet trust, daily communion, and joy-filled Love songs.

And that’s pretty much it?

That’s pretty much it.

I’m sure there was an overflow in there somewhere, but I guess it’s the bedrock that You’re after.

And if that’s the kind of quiet trust walk that pleases You, then I want to dial it all down to the simple essentials one more time

And be that guy.

But where was I? ...

Above all else, everywhere I look, in everything my eyes and senses take in,

I see just what I need to see most, one more time: Your faithfulness.

Even in the silence, it shouts:

‘If I AM faithful in the beauty of creation, know that I am even more faithful in working in and through every situation, and especially My beautiful creation of you.’

Help me never to take such jaw-dropping goodness for granted, but instead:

‘Let them—creation, mankind, me—praise the Name of God. It’s the only Name worth praising. His radiance exceeds anything in earth and sky...’

Wow, even my pen must be praising, because I can’t even read my own writing.

How does that happen?! Wait, I know!"....

"When I write, my perspective shifts. The mundane becomes a minefield for inspiration. My daily routine becomes an adventure, an opportunity to look for living hope where others may see none. And when I find that hope, I rejoice in the God who gave it to me. Whether I respond to beauty with a blog post, a song, or a prayer, my response is worship because I’m noticing God’s beauty and celebrating it...celebrating Him." (Ashley Abramson, Relevant Magazine)

Lifting the Weight

”An anxious heart weighs a man down, but a kind word cheers him up.”—Proverbs 12:25

This message may be on Heaven's loudspeaker today. Certainly, this past week. It's always good to sing, and praise, and pray, but this could be the most life-changing overflow of worship any of us does today…or Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday….

Lord, we lace up our sneakers once more and seek to follow in Your footsteps, remembering this is true about You: "A bruised reed He will not break and a smoldering wick He will not snuff out." (Matthew 12:20). Help us, at every turn, to speak Life.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
Be acceptable and pleasing in Your sight,
O Lord, my firm, immovable rock and my Redeemer. (Psalm 19:14)

ADAPTED FROM 3-16-14