"He's Always Been Faithful"
Back around the beginning of the year, I wrote up a post containing the lyrics and musings on one of my favorite songs, "He's Always Been Faithful", by Sara Groves. Here are the words again...
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God's hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can't remember one single regret
In serving God only and trusting His hand
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
This is my anthem, this is my song,
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
This particular post related the lyrics specifically to the Lord's providence in getting me this job here in Florida. At the time, I had recently returned from Thailand and had no idea what I was going to do with myself for the next nine months. And the Lord provided this job for me and I sat amazed at His good will...since this was a lot better of a job than any other options I had before me. I said, "Here I was thinking that I would just have 'get through' these coming months, but now I’m looking forward to it...God is so good." And He IS good. But I've since wondered at the irony of including that song in the post relating to this job...because part of my time here has been when I've struggled the most with the sovereignty of God and His faithfulness (as evidenced by the last couple posts). This job is hard...being lonely all the time is hard...waiting is hard. Yet..."All I have need of His hand will provide." After an afternoon that contained some tears and moaning to Erin (via Gmail chat) of my sorry, lonely state...I was in the kitchen, making supper and started singing the above song (I was originally singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and that led up to singing this). And then the words hit me..."All I have need of His hand will provide"...that's what it means to say "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." That truth, Psalm 23:1, is quickly becoming of the most comforting Scriptures to me. It's the Psalm almost everyone knows...so it sounds trite...but do you know what it says? It says "I shall not want"...that means...I shall not want. Or, as my Hebrew/Greek Interlinear literally renders it, "not I shall lack." Wow...I shall not want, lack, "all I have need of His hand will provide"...that "hit" me while I was working in the kitchen late this afternoon. That means, if I "need" friends around me at this moment, the Lord will provide them. Simple as that. And if they aren't provided, then I guess I don't need them right now. Like a dear lady told my mom, maybe the Lord is "hiding [me] away for awhile"...and that's okay. “'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" (Isaiah 55:8-9) The Lord DOES know what He's doing...He's known for all time.
I just glanced down and my eyes alighted on something that I'd copied into the front of my Bible while I was in Thailand...a verse of poetry from an Elisabeth Elliot book...I think it was Quest for Love. It applies to now too...
"I wait.
Dear Lord, Thy ways
Are past finding out
Thy love too high.
O hold me still
Beneath Thy shadow
It is enough that Thou
Lift up the light
Of Thy countenance."
It is enough.
"For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death." ~Psalm 48:14
"Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" ~Lam. 3:22-24
Morning by morning I wake up to find
The power and comfort of God's hand in mine
Season by season I watch Him amazed
In awe of the mystery of His perfect ways
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
I can't remember a trial or a pain
He did not recycle to bring me gain
I can't remember one single regret
In serving God only and trusting His hand
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
This is my anthem, this is my song,
The theme of the stories I've heard for so long
God has been faithful, He will be again
His loving compassion, it knows no end
All I have need of His hand will provide
He's always been faithful to me
This particular post related the lyrics specifically to the Lord's providence in getting me this job here in Florida. At the time, I had recently returned from Thailand and had no idea what I was going to do with myself for the next nine months. And the Lord provided this job for me and I sat amazed at His good will...since this was a lot better of a job than any other options I had before me. I said, "Here I was thinking that I would just have 'get through' these coming months, but now I’m looking forward to it...God is so good." And He IS good. But I've since wondered at the irony of including that song in the post relating to this job...because part of my time here has been when I've struggled the most with the sovereignty of God and His faithfulness (as evidenced by the last couple posts). This job is hard...being lonely all the time is hard...waiting is hard. Yet..."All I have need of His hand will provide." After an afternoon that contained some tears and moaning to Erin (via Gmail chat) of my sorry, lonely state...I was in the kitchen, making supper and started singing the above song (I was originally singing "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and that led up to singing this). And then the words hit me..."All I have need of His hand will provide"...that's what it means to say "The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." That truth, Psalm 23:1, is quickly becoming of the most comforting Scriptures to me. It's the Psalm almost everyone knows...so it sounds trite...but do you know what it says? It says "I shall not want"...that means...I shall not want. Or, as my Hebrew/Greek Interlinear literally renders it, "not I shall lack." Wow...I shall not want, lack, "all I have need of His hand will provide"...that "hit" me while I was working in the kitchen late this afternoon. That means, if I "need" friends around me at this moment, the Lord will provide them. Simple as that. And if they aren't provided, then I guess I don't need them right now. Like a dear lady told my mom, maybe the Lord is "hiding [me] away for awhile"...and that's okay. “'For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,' says the LORD. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.'" (Isaiah 55:8-9) The Lord DOES know what He's doing...He's known for all time.
I just glanced down and my eyes alighted on something that I'd copied into the front of my Bible while I was in Thailand...a verse of poetry from an Elisabeth Elliot book...I think it was Quest for Love. It applies to now too...
"I wait.
Dear Lord, Thy ways
Are past finding out
Thy love too high.
O hold me still
Beneath Thy shadow
It is enough that Thou
Lift up the light
Of Thy countenance."
It is enough.
"For this is God, our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death." ~Psalm 48:14
"Through the LORD’s mercies we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness. 'The LORD is my portion,' says my soul, 'Therefore I hope in Him!'" ~Lam. 3:22-24