Joy and Strength (Christian life and music)

The slow healing from God.  Sigh. Sometimes, God seems to take an inordinately long amount of time to heal someone.  Why, I don't know. It can either be a faith crusher or a faith builder, depending on how we respond to the seeming lack of interest from God. But God cares about the minutest details of our lives.   "Indeed the very hairs of your head are all numbered." Luke 12:7 "How precious to me are your thoughts, God!  How vast is the sum of them!  Were I to count them, they would outnumber the grains of sand..." Psalm 139:17-18a Remember when Lazarus died and the first words out of Martha's lips when Jesus finally showed up?  “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died." (John 11:21) In other words, Martha said, "Jesus, You're late." How could Jesus let her beloved brother die?  Why didn't Jesus come right away?  Didn't he care?  Didn't He love Lazarus?  Martha? Ever been there?  Maybe no one died, but your

  Jesus heals.  He healed people when He walked this earth as a man and He is still healing people today through His power and Holy Spirit. Even when He was among us, He didn't have to be present to heal someone.  There is the account of the canturion (if you are not familiar with this account, please read here ).  And there is the account here in Luke 17:14, the verse I want to write about today. Three words stuck out to me: as they went.   Jesus could have easily touched the lepers and healed them right then and there.  But for whatever reason, He told them to go on.  He told them to go show themselves to the priests.   Now why would they want to go show themselves with their leperous bodies to the priests?  Did they simply do as Jesus asked, knowing that He is Lord, and not think why they were doing so?   Jesus didn't tell them that He would heal them on their way to the priests.  He simply told them to go.  Did they intuitively feel that they would be healed as they went? 

  My latest song to encourage, soothe, heal, and strengthen you.

I wrote this song, "Seek the Lord," way back in 2001.  We still had our Steinway grand then.  Oh how I miss it.  How we came to sell it - that's for another blog entry! A friend once told me that my music was "for a time."  I never questioned what she meant by that, but I had a feeling that my music was for a hurting time, for those who are hurting inside.   I bring words of comfort and direction in my music.  And not everyone is in a "bad" place emotionally, spiritually, or in life.  So I have often felt that most people wouldn't "get" my music, be able to relate. But I would say the whole world is pretty much in a bad way these days with this pandemic affecting all of us. Maybe now is the time for this song.  Oh it has been there for a while and "spoke" to those who needed it before this time, I imagine. But I felt led to "re-release" it here for you all today.  Right now.  In this moment. For such a time as this. Wh