Just some early morning thoughts from me to you…
“Shout to the Lord all the earth! Serve the Lord with joy. Come before him with a joyful shout!
Acknowledge that the Lord is God. He made us and we belong to him; we are his people and the sheep of his pasture.
Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise. Thank him and bless his name, for the Lord is good and his gracious love stands forever.
His faithfulness remains from generation to generation.”
Psalm 100: 1-5 (ISV)
We say it. Sing about it. And seek after it.
Believing that leaning into God and following Him will provide us the peace, direction and hope we need.
Then the world hits again. Right where we are. And in places far away.
Worry overwhelms us. Hope leaves. We’re tired. We stop because there is no more trying left in us. We struggle to move forward, not knowing where.
The sparkle in our eyes and the joy in our face fades.
We try to pray, but instead we cry and wonder what is happening and why. And then an emptiness from deep within wonders, “what now?”
If we are honest, we know that we have all been there at one time or another, and may be there again.
So, let me remind you of something you already know. Something I was reminded of by a fellow follower of Christ.
At an exceedingly difficult time in her life, and in the life of her husband, young family and their ministry, Australian worship leader, Darlene Zschech, sat down and picked up her Bible.
Frustrated, she turned to the book of Psalms, where the writers’ feelings often reflected their own frustrations and fears, intent on expressing her own feelings of frustration, and demanding of God to know where He was as her own personal world was spinning out of control.
She found herself turning to Psalm 100, and within twenty minutes of reading it, instead of frustration, the anthem of praise, “Shout to the Lord,” miraculously rose up through her word-by-word, note-by-note, out of God’s Word.
Here are some of the words she wrote down in that moment—
“My Jesus, My Savior, Lord there is none like You,
All of my days I want to praise the wonders of Your mighty love.
My comfort, my shelter, Tower of refuge and strength.
Let every breath, all that I am never cease to worship You.
Shout to the Lord all the Earth let us sing power and majesty, praise to the King.
Mountains bow down and the seas will roar at the sound of Your name.
I sing for joy at the work of Your hands.
Forever I’ll love You, forever I’ll stand.
Nothing compares to the promise I have In You…”
Think about that for a moment—Nothing compares to the promise I have in You.
In our better moments we know that is true.
No matter what is going on in our lives, or in the world around us.
We know that the world’s promises are fleeting, unfulfilling, often tied to the expectations of others, and prove to be empty.
But the promises we have in our Lord are true now and forever.
The tomb is empty—Christ is alive and has made a way for us to claim the never-ending wonders of His mighty love, comfort, shelter, refuge, and strength both here and eternally, when we accept Him and ask Him into our lives.
So, we can always “Shout to the Lord” with every last breath, knowing that no matter what happens, or what we face—Nothing compares to the promise we have in our eternal relationship with our Lord.
Simply, be ready and watch what He does directly, or through us for others, or does for us through His other children.
Thank you, Lord.
Nothing compares to You, and the promises we have in You.
In His Name–Scott
Sit back and be encouraged as you listen to Darlene Zschech and the chorus perform “Shout to the Lord.”
