Reminders

"Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

-Philippians 4:4-7

"Fear not, for I am with you;
be not dismayed, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand."
-Isaiah 41:10

My Constant

I write tonight with a heart full of joy. Yes, you heard that right. And yes, it is the weekend before finals begin (of my final, most difficult semester of all time!). Yet, I cannot seem to stop smiling. I have been overwhelmed by God's constancy, His faithfulness today, even more so than I have been this whole past week (which is amazing!). I just finished working out and the Scripture I was reading at one point as I jogged on the treadmill was this...

"The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb. " -Psalm 19:7-10

As I read this over and over again, I was overcome by the realization of all that God is doing in my life right now and not only that, but primarily the constancy with which He loves and sustains us. I have experienced first hand today what it feels like to have my soul revived through His Word, and how He has filled my heart with rejoicing as I reveled in His presence all day long and worked in the strength He provided to get all of this work done. What an amazing God we have!

Also, as I was working out tonight I had Snow Patrol's Eyes Open CD playing in the background and I was reading yet another Scripture card. The verses were from 1 Peter 2:9-10 which say,

"But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession..."

and before I could go further in my reading I became conscious of the lyrics playing there in the background;

(from Snow Patrol's "Make This Go On Forever")
"And I don't know where to look / My words just break and melt / Please just save me from this darkness."

I was arrested and held there for a moment contemplating the heartbreaking honesty of those lyrics, that cry to be saved from a consuming darkness. Oh man have I been there before! That cry, "Please just save me from this darkness," echoed in my mind over and over again. Then I resumed my reading of the verses before me and what were they, but,

"...that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy."

How awesome is that?! Yet another reason to be just overflowing with joy. We have been "called out of darkness into his marvelous light," we've received mercy upon mercy! What a great and awesome God we have!

OK, I'm bubbling over right now, I know, but I love these encounters with God, where I feel His presence soooo closely. Not only are these fun to reflect on just after they happen, but they are also incredibly helpful reminders when God seems distant, times that invariably come, where my trust in Him is deepened. These help to remind me of His constancy and faithfulness in those times.

Well, I had better get back to preparing my heart for worship. I'll probably write again at the end of the week after finals are over.