When It Rains

Here are the lyrics. It’s written from the standpoint of someone struggling with how to make their faith real from day to day. It reminded me after I wrote it a little bit of the Psalms in which the psalmist writes “How long Lord till we... How long Lord till You...” The psalmist is wrestling with things of God he doesn’t understand. Thanks where this comes from. Someone trying to make it work but still not sure how all the puzzle pieces fit together or even if he has all the pieces. Let me know. Thanks.

WHEN IT RAINS:

I have faith to move mountains to the deepest of the deep
Ponder life with my warm cup letting my leaves steep
Watching morning come shinin’ through the trees
With all these songs I’m singin’ are there any I believe?

Can you show me now, a faith to live today
Cuz I’ve been trying and Mister sometimes when I’m praying
God feels so far away
I know He’s close but I only see Him when it rains

I’m trying to mirror on the surface who I am underneath
It’s harder than at first glance to let the deep cry out to deep
I know Your promises are true, here in my heart I keep
Storm clouds seem to follow, so I’m on my knees
Can you show me now, a faith to live today
Cuz I’ve been trying and Mister sometimes when I’m praying
God feels so far away
I know He’s close but I only see Him when it rains

How long Lord, till I see Your face?
How long Lord, till we experience Your grace?
God give me the strength to make it through the day
Cuz lately I only see You when it rains.

Psalm 143:5-6: Do I Thirst For God Like I Thirst For Coffee?

I'm sort of an addict when it comes to hot drinks. My favorite being coffee. After a recent stint on not drinking coffee I came to realize I can't really go without it. It's not an addiction per say.... it's a deep appreciation for that lovely bean beverage. When I wake up in the morning it's the first thing I want to drink. I love the smell of it. When I'm thirsty the first thing I think about is coffee. 

My question to my self then is this: Do I thirst for God like I thirst for coffee? In Psalm 143:5-6 the psalmist writes about his thirst for God. "I remember what happened long ago; I consider everything you have done. I think about al you have made. I lift my hands to you in prayer. As a dry land needs rain, I thirst for you. Selah". (Ps 143:5-6 NCV) Do I thirst for God like that? Like a dry land that needs rain to sustain life? When I wake up in the morning... is God on my mind as quickly or before coffee? 

Just processing through these truths about God I'm finding in the Psalms and trying to make them real in my own life. Blessings to all of you who follow and read these posts. Leave comments once in a while. I appreciate them. 

Psalm 119:165: True Peace

Psalm 119:165 (NCV) - "Those who love Your teachings will find true peace, and nothing will defeat them." 

I would say that my life in general is pretty peaceful. I've never known persecution or anything beyond a student in my 9th Grade home asking why I wore WWJD t-shirts all the time and me feeling self conscious about it. 

I have peace. I have true peace in my spirit in knowing Jesus Christ. How do I have this peace? How do I know these things? Through my times with my Father in the Bible. I love the teachings of the Psalms and the Proverbs and every page in my Bible. 

Do I understand it all? No. Do I always live it all out? No. Do I have it all together? No. I have a lot I need to work on. I have a lot I need to work out. I have found peace in the teaching of scripture. I have found peace in the ways it teaches me to live my life. 

Am I invincible? Not physically. Bullets don't bounce of me and unfortunately I don't regenerate like Claire Bennet from Heroes. 

I can have peace however that I don't have to worry about eternity. I will live beyond this body. I will live beyond this dust. I will live in the kingdom of God and I will forever worship Him. This life begins now...

Psalm 119:136: Am I Broken?

Psalm 119:136 (NCV) - "Tears stream from my eyes, because people do not obey Your teachings."

Am I broken for the world around me? When I look out at the people who pass by me on 460 East as I drive to work every

morning do I have compassion for them? When I look at the average person serving me at the McDonald's drive thru or at my

local coffee shop with my barista or the other patrons in the shop, do I see value in them? Do I hurt for them? Do I see people in

need of a savior? Do I care? We're getting ready to go on a Winter Retreat called "ALL I HAVE TO GIVE". That's our theme. That's

what we're teaching. Do I do this in my day to day life as much as I can? Have I focused so much on "practical needs" that I've lost

sight of "spiritual needs". If I have I've done those I've come in contact with a great disservice. Father teach me to love the

unlovable.

Forgiveness & Consequences

Psalm 99:8 (NCV) - : LORD our God You answered them. You showed them that You are a forgiving God, but You punished them for their wrongs." 

There have been so many times when we have assumed God's forgiveness means not having consequences for my sin. At least I know for most of us we wish it was that way. I mean who wants to get into trouble. Wouldn't it be easier... don't we wish God would just forgive and then forget about the consequences? See when we think this way, we forget the fact that God is a holy and just judge. We forget that he must deal with our sins and that His Son died on the cross for our sins. Jesus paid the ultimate penalty for us. So we must deal with our own sin consequences. When we don't we place a barrier between God and us that doesn't need to be there. Consequences are a part of sin. Does God forgive? Yes. Do we still have consequences? Yes. We just need to own up to it. 

I Don't Know... And I'm OK With That.

Psalm 145:3 (NCV) - "The LORD is great and worthy of out praise; no one can understand how great He is." 

I find such comfort in this verse. I find comfort in knowing that I won't ever understand everything about the greatness of God or the truths of His scripture. Sometimes I get frustrated when I come across an aspect or a characteristic of God that I don't understand or feel is contradictory. I get frustrated when I don't understand it all. This verse really helps me to rest in knowing that it's OK for me to be frustrated. It's OK for me to ask question and it's even OK for me to never find all the right answers. The truth is that God in His greatness and in His relationship me is guiding me along on a journey to more greatly discover Him and His greatness. He may only ever show me glimpses, but He is here with me every step of the way. 

God thanks for helping me understand what I do understand about You and for being so much greater than I could ever understand. 

Psalm 43 - Screaming At God.

Psalm 43, "God defend me. Argue my case against those who don't follow you. Save me from liars and those who do evil. God, you are my strength. Why have you rejected me? Why am I sad and troubled by my enemies? Send me your light and truth to guide me. Let them lead me to your holy mountain, to where you live. Then I will go to the altar of GOd, to God who is my joy and happiness. I will praise you with a harp, God, my God. Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset? I should put my hope in God and keep praising hi, my Savior and my God." 

In verse 2 of the chapter I think we see the Psalmist writing in a place that many of us of the Christian faith often find ourselves. He starts with "God you are my strength." A statement of fact and of hope and of reassurance. It's what he's holding to. Then it's followed immediately by, "Why have you rejected me? Why am I sad and troubled by my enemies?" Don't we all say these things at one point or another in our spiritual journey? One minute we're are praise God and thanking Him for His strength and the next.... we are asking God "Where did you go God? Where are you? Were you ever there?" We begin to doubt who God is in our lives. We begin to doubt His sovereignty and His authority in our lives. 

When these questions arise we should respond as the Psalmist does in the verses that follow. He begins to ask God to "Send me your light and truth to guide me." He stops pointing fingers and begins to look in the mirror. He is asking God to show Him the way. He begins to praise God with song. He focuses his heart toward His Father. 

Does doing this necessarily mean that everything is going to be alright after that? Certainly not. In verse 5 the Psalmist again writes "Why am I so sad? Why am I so upset?" He concludes however, that no matter how bad it's gotten, no matter how sad he is that "I should put my hope in God and keep praising him, my Savior and my God." He finds hope in the One who gives hope. He finds saving grace and peace in the Savior and Prince of Peace. 

Today maybe you are crying out to God in a similar fashion. Screaming to the heavens with accusations about God not being there and your world falling apart. May you stop pointing fingers, look in the mirror, and remember that this is not your world. It's God's. And may you rest in the fact that He loves you beyond what you can comprehend. May you find hope in Him. 

Blessings.