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 our shoulders droop. We moan. Our heart hurts. We can’t move forward. Our pity party begins.

And the twinkle in our eye fades and the smile on our face falls or is forced.

We pray, we cry and wonder why.

And we don’t know where to go, what to do or how to move on.

Let me suggest something I learned from a fellow follower of our Lord.

At a very difficult time in many areas in her life, and the life of her husband, young family and their ministry, Australian worship leader, Darlene Zschech, sat down and picked up her Bible.

She turned to the book of Psalms where the writers’ feelings often reflected their own frustrations and fears as their world spun out of control, wondering in frustration to God where He was while all these things were happening in their lives.

In particular, she turned to Psalm 100, and within twenty minutes of reading it, the anthem, “Shout to the Lord,” rose up through her out of God’s Word.

Here are a few of the words she wrote out of 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’s true.

We know and have seen that the world’s promises are fleeting, unfulfilling, tied to the expectations of others, and empty.

But the promises we have in our Lord are 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 “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.

Thank you, Lord. Nothing compares to you.

In His Name–Scott

PS. To listen to Darlene Zschech and chorus perform “Shout to the Lord” watch this video —

Shout to the Lord – Hillsong Worship