Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

Building physical muscle hurts.  Muscles get sore and stiff.  They don't grow without effort, sweat, and pain. Same holds true for spiritual muscles.  It hurts to grow up spiritually.   Exercising faith in the direst of circumstances is hard.  Very hard.  It hurts. Exercising faith when you see no results is even harder!  At least with physical muscles, you see the results!  But when you grow spiritual muscle, it is not always as perceptible.   But we still have to keep on "flexing," doing "reps."  God increases the weight because He knows how much we can bear. Sometimes, you feel like you're going to drop the "barbells" because you feel crushed under the weight of it all.  You cry out, "Jesus!  Help!" But sometimes, He doesn't lift the weight from you.  This, too, is hard.  Very hard.   He. Wants. To. Strengthen. You. Sure, it would be easier if He would just take the weight off already. But then our muscle wouldn't get as strong

My testimony isn't so much a success story as it is an ongoing story of faith. I have not "arrived" anywhere, in any sense of the word. All of the dreams I ever had of success, and the like, have come to naught. Yet my testimony is strong and powerful and will, I believe, inspire others to stay the course with God. Through loss, suffering, paying a high cost to obey the Lord, obstacles, attacks, and the like, I remained true to the Lord.  This is not just something.  It is everything. I believe there are Christians out there who have given up on God because of how their lives turned out.  God didn't do what they wanted, so they walked away. But God isn't there as a genie.  He is there as God.  He is the One we are to look to and ask Him what He wants from us.   If He doesn't "make all our dreams come true," what of it?  Maybe those dreams would have destroyed us.  Maybe those dreams would have taken us farther from Him instead of closer. You see, He

The other day, I was listening to Carrie Underwood’s rendition of “I   Surrender All” from her new album.  The entire album is glorious. While the song played, I felt led to write down all of the things  that I surrender to the Lord.  I wanted to see what my “all” looked   like – what items specifically I am surrendering. It’s easier to say, “I surrender all” than to be specific about it. Turns out, when I started typing a numbered list of what I am   surrendering to the Lord, I kept typing and ended up with 100 items! I felt so free!  With each new person, place, or thing I surrendered,  I just kept feeling freer and freer. This is helpful because now, when I’m tempted to revert back to   “owning” those items on my list, I remind myself, “Oh yeah.  I   surrendered that to the Lord.”  Then I’m free again. I highly recommend this exercise.  You will quickly discern just how   much you are holding on to, what is holding you back or down, or  disturbing your connection to Christ. Then, w

God always wants the best for you.  Period. However, we do not know what is best for us.  Our limited viewpoint is no match for God's omniscience.  So how could we possibly know what is best for us? When the Lord removes someone or something from our lives, if it held any import to us at all, it hurts.  At first.   But if that person or thing was an idol, then it had no place in your life to begin with. How do you know when something or someone has become an idol?  When you think about it, him, or her more than you do the Lord. "Now how am I supposed to think about the Lord more than anything or anyone?" you might ask.  He has ways to get you there! Job was already a godly man, but it wasn't until God removed everything and everyone - literally - from his life that Job really saw and experienced and knew God.   And God's intention for Job is the same for all of us - that we might know and experience Him better and more.  Job's case was extreme, but it worked! 

I came upon a Scripture today that I wasn't familiar with.  It stood out and caught my eye. "But they will be held guilty, They whose strength is their god." Habakkuk 1:11b It got me thinking.  How many people go through life thinking that they don't need God, that they are strong enough to handle life on their own, thank you very much? Does this mean we are supposed to be a bunch of weaklings, with no backbone or strength of our own?  Not at all. Let's compare for a moment our own strength - even the strongest of the strong - against the strength and power of God.  This is ludicrous!  There is no comparison!   The One who holds not only us together, keeps this world spinning around, and controls everything in the universe by the power of His might, is Almighty.  He is omnipotent. Our "strength" is nowhere near how strong God is! When we admit our weakness, come to Him admitting that we need His strength in order to live a life that pleases Him, then we

Did you ever know a stubborn person?  Maybe you yourself are one.   I can be very stubborn at times.  Here is how this can be a good thing. You won't get me to budge on my commitment to Christ.  No can do.  My stubborn refusal to ever give up on the Lord or my faith in Him is my strength, foundation, and reason for living.  How do I know how stubborn I am in this?  Because my faith has been tried, tested, and tempted and I'm still holding on to Jesus. Another time my stubbornness serves me well is when I refuse to hop on the latest trending bandwagons just because "everyone else" is hopping on.  I wait and watch.  I let it play out and see if it is going to go belly up, destroy people's connection to Christ, and so on.  I'm not one to "join" quickly. I've never been one to give in to peer pressure.  I stay stubbornly true to myself and God knowing that if I will follow Him, and not whatever crazy thing my "peers" are doing, He will alwa

I once heard that when we are in the Lord’s Presence, there is no want – we have no needs.   It’s all  there  – in Him.   And then – a few weeks later – I actually  experienced  this truth.    I was leading worship for a new Small Group.  After we sang praises to God, there was a powerful silence.  God was among us in a very tangible way.   We simply sat there, unable to speak for what seemed a very long time.  We sat in silence totally comfortable, without any awkwardness.  There was no need for speech.   It felt so  right .  We simply  were .  We ministered to God and let Him minister to us.    It was beautiful.    Then, someone in the group passed around the prayer requests sheet.   AND THIS IS WHEN I KNEW DEEP IN MY SOUL THAT THERE IS NO WANT IN GOD’S PRESENCE.   I could not think of a single prayer request to write.    Mind you, I had MANY very crucial needs during this time in my life.    But in that moment, there was no prayer request to write because I HAD NO WANT. I felt no ne

Why do I love talking, writing, and singing about Jesus?  I am overwhelmed by His great love for me personally.  There are billions of us roaming around this planet, and yet He loves me as if I were the only person.  You, too. He loves billions of people individually, personally, and never stops thinking about each one of us. We cannot comprehend His Mind, let alone His love. His love excites me because it is so rare. His life excites me because it is singular. His power excites me because it is omnipotent. His intimacy excites me because He knows me and yet loves me.  He knows every thought I have before I think it.  He created me in my mother's womb.  He has written down every single day of my life in His book.  He was there when I was born and He will be there when He takes me - either in death, or in the Rapture.   I am obsessed with Jesus!   Ours is a love relationship like no other.  Even the intimacy I know with my husband cannot compare.  Sorry, honey! I never have, and nev