Tis so Sweet

     Happy New Year! Isn’t it hard to believe that we are now in 2012! Christmas and Thanksgiving seems like ages ago, yet when I think about it they are both like a blur.  As we enter a new year we will no doubt encounter many blessings as well as hardships and struggles. We have so much to be thankful for from the last year, so much to remember and reflect. 

     For the past few months God has placed the hymn “Tis So Sweet” on my heart. It certainly is a song that can be convicting to sing, if we are not trusting Christ in every area of our lives. 

“Jesus, Jesus, How I trust Him

How I’ve proved Him o’er and o’er

Jesus, Jesus precious Jesus!

O for grace to trust Him more” 

     So many times we get caught up in the temporary world in which we live. Trusting God in everything is a huge and essential part of worshiping God in everything. Many would say that they trust in God, but how many truly trust God with everything. Its easy to only trust God at our convenience or when we are desperate. Sometimes we think we can handle small problems in our lives without ever praying about them or trusting Christ with them. God has been teaching me to trust Him not just for major problems and struggles, but even in the small things; in everything!  Christ is the only one in whom we can trust, not just for salvation, but for everything both major and minor. It is simple really, if we trust God with the big things shouldn’t we also trust Him with the small things. (reminded of Matt. 6:25-34)

     The story of how “Tis So Sweet to Trust in Jesus” was written is both inspiring and tragic. Since her teenage years Louisa M.R. Stead had felt called into missions. She served in both China, South Africa, and Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) despite many health hardships. Before her time in South Africa her first husband drowned while trying to save a drowning child. After this while in South Africa she wrote “Tis so Sweet.”[1]

     As we enter into the new year may we trust God in everything, more and more each day! He is worthy of all of our worship and praise. “O for grace to trust Him more!”

In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. Ps.56:11

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[1] Morgan, Robert “Then Sings My Soul” p. 210

Rain or Shine

Lately I have been reading Matt Redman’s book “ The Unquenchable Worshipper.” It has many great truths about worshipping the Lord and even in the first few pages I am reminded that worshipping the Lord must be something the believer does in all circumstances. So many people base their worship to the Lord on how they feel at that moment. Feelings and emotions are important, but they also can distract us and even lead us into sin, the complete opposite of lifestyle worship. (“But each one is tempted when he is carried away by his own lust. James 1:14) The individual is solely responsible for his sin, and honestly, even for his feelings and emotions.

There certainly are times in our lives when we feel discouraged or just plain “blue.” However, we must still be striving to live a life of worship in these times. In his book, Redman mentions several Scriptures in chapter one that hopefully you will find encouraging. Habakkuk 3:17-18 states:

Though the fig-tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

While I don’t particularly care for figs I still think I can relate to Habakkuk’s words. There are always periods in our lives when we endure financial troubles, problems, and trials. What will we do in those times? Will we become depressed or discouraged, or will we turn to the Lord and trust Him as an act of worship? Will we rejoice in Him?

In Acts 16 Paul and Silas find themselves in prison. This would certainly be an opportunity to feel “down.” Here they were living their lives totally in ministry and they had been thrown in jail. Verse 25 explains that in this time they were praying and singing hymns of praise to God! What an incredible witness for the Lord. Our lifestyle of worship will influence those around us. Who and what we worship influences more than just ourselves. A few verses later we read that an earthquake frees the prisoners, yet they all stay in place. God used Paul and Silas’s witness (their lives of worship) to influence the entire jail and to bring one of the jailers and his household to salvation (verse30-31)!

While Redman doesn’t mention him, I can’t help but think of Job and his reaction to hard times. Job, a very wealthy God-follower suddenly loses it all; his family and his wealth. His reaction is found in Job 1:20-22

Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped. He said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” Through all of this Job did not sin nor did he blame God. 

It is my prayer that our attitudes be similar to that of David in Psalm 34:1-3 where he writes:

I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth. My soul will make its boast in the Lord; The humble will hear it and rejoice. O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together. 

Regardless of our circumstances, whether bleak or blissful, may we always exalt the name of the Lord; rain or shine!