Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.
He will not let your foot be moved; he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.
The Lord is your keeper; the Lord is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day, nor the moon by night.
The Lord will keep you from all evil; he will keep your life.
The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore…”
Psalm 121: 1-8 (ESV)
Look around. I wonder how you would describe how things are going in your world.
I wonder how your recollection and description of yesterday might be.
And I suspect we have all had a few moments in our days, wondering what our tomorrows will bring.
Ever find yourself, looking back, looking around, or looking ahead and finding that some of these descriptions might fit—
Feeling less than yourself. Yet clinging to a ray of hope.
Feeling welcome on occasion. Then, feeling left out.
Disappointed. Desperate. Despairing. Defeated.
Failed. Fallen short. Ashamed, once again.
Least. Last. Lost. Alone.
But maybe, just maybe, through all the emotional ups and downs, you are still determined to find and embrace some sense of encouragement to move on.
Richard Smallwood confesses that he was in the middle of feeling overwhelmed, defeated, beaten down, and alone, as he was caring for his elderly mother suffering from dementia, and a family friend dying of cancer, while also going through some personal struggles of his own, when he wrote the song “Total Praise.”
Feeling as if God had left him, he set out to write words of frustration and self-pity, but found, instead, that God kept moving him to write words of praise to God.
Words such as these—
“Lord, I will lift my eyes to the hills,
Knowing my help is coming from You,
Your peace You give me in time of the storm.
You are the source of my strength,
You are the strength of my life.
I lift my hands in total praise to You.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.
Amen, Amen, Amen, Amen.”
Feeling all alone. Defeated, desperate. Uncertain.
At the end of your rope, and not sure you can hang on any longer.
Afraid to move forward, even if you could move forward.
Hard to see any hope as you look ahead.
Start here, stay here, move forward from here with Him, claiming this promise of His truth in Psalm 121:1—
“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth.”
God is there. God is always there.
God’s got you—always.
Amen and Amen.
In His Name–Scott
As you listen to this breathtaking anthem “Total Praise” by Richard Smallwood, and performed by the First Baptist Dallas Choir and Orchestra, lift your eyes, hands, head, and heart to the God who loves you and is worthy of your “Total Praise!”
