Blessed Be His Name!

I love the song "Blessed Be Your Name" by Matt & Beth Redman which talks about blessing the Name of the Lord through all circumstances, whether things are going great or not so great. In general right now I'd have to say I feel very blessed and certainly have nothing to complain about ... but I guess with life just being so crazy as the kids are growing up before our eyes and so many transitions & decisions to continually face ... there are so many mixed emotions that come with "letting go" (as I talked about in the previous post). Even "when the world's all as it should be" as the song says, it can be so hard to trust Him and always say "blessed be Your Name." On the one hand there is a definite inner peace that as a Christian I know only comes from God ... yet at the same time there is also a bit of a storm raging inside (or at least trying to rage). The bridge of the song says "You give and take away" ... okay, this is the letting go part. We do not know what the future holds, only God does and He is sovereign, so what is there to worry about? Ahhh!!!!

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A few months ago in our bathroom I 'stragetically' :) placed a little calendar with daily Bible readings called "Choice Gleanings." Yesterday's passage was Psalm 31:14-15 ..."But I trust in you, O LORD; I say, You are my God. My times are in your hands..." And the reading said..."Our Lord desires us to experience His peace day by day. Surely we desire to possess it too. So why do we worry and fret? We know that He does all things for our good and for His glory, yet still we find ourselves beset with stress and worry. Life goes so fast, so perhaps what we need to do is STOP. Be still. Know that He is God. He cares for you. He desires only good for you. Your times are safely in His hand. Rest in His tender love for you and be at peace." ~ V. Gaynier

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WOW! STOP! Be still ... trust the Lord, know His peace, bless His Name always!

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As I already said, ultimate peace comes from God and it runs so deep it "transcends all understanding" (Philippians 4:7), so no matter what life brings we can know His peace ... however, we still need those times of refreshing and I think as we "stop to smell the roses," so to speak, there is also that opportunity of rediscovering God's peace. This reminds me of a poem I wrote which also kind of fits with this theme of trusting God & knowing His peace ~ it's called "Amid The Storm." I wrote the original poem about 26 years ago when I was 13 ... this is the edited version.

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AMID THE STORM

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Under the shelter of the old maple tree,

Fields of memories encompass me,

Of childhood days so happy and free,

Now gone for all eternity...

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The tall thick grass seems motionless,
And yet I feel its soft caress;

Then a gust of wind blows violently

As if to try to startle me...

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My heart returns to bear its pain,

When suddenly there's pouring rain!

The tears now flowing like a stream,

I lose myself in clouds, and dream...

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The rolling thunder I forget

As quenching rain still makes me wet;

I count the drops that touch my nose

Until I see that precious rose...

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I gaze in wonder at the sight

Of its strength to stand with might

Against the drowning of the rain

Which molds the soul, but not in vain.

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By Brenda Thiessen (1983/1998/2009)

Photography by Brenda Thiessen; one of my Mother's Day roses from Harv

(taken June 2009)

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This is not a slide-show. Click on play to listen to the song "Blessed Be Your Name."

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