​In light of the past week and the events that have transpired, God has put a song on my heart that I feel compelled to share.  This whole year has been a unique one for our country.  We’ve experienced pressure from every side:  economic, social, racial, political, and spiritual.  So many things have felt like they’re spinning out of control.  However, our God is still in control and we need to remember that.  

​Today, we are going to conclude our worship set focusing on God’s faithfulness through the storms of life and the fact that even in the fire and life’s hardest moments, God is always with us.  Over the last seven months, we have watched our nation spiral into chaos and division.  The increased pressure caused by COVID-19 brought to light points of high tension across our country.  Therefore, in the midst of all the unrest, tragedy, conflict, polarization, and loss, I believe that today’s song is especially appropriate for us to focus on and declare to ourselves, our families, and our communities.

​Do you feel alone?
 
One of the biggest lies Satan tries to get us to believe is that we’re all alone in life.  Despair, depression, anxiety, and fear can come crashing into our lives if we believe this lie from the enemy, and he’d like nothing better than to ruin our day.  Therefore, he whispers this deception into our souls and impresses it on our minds and heart, and all too often we start to believe the lies he’s feeding us.

​As Americans, we live in a culture of low commitment.  People change jobs as easily as they change wardrobes, and relationship changes happen even faster.  Few young people stay in the area they grew up, either moving around for college, work, or adventure.  Most marriages are ending in divorce, many are not even getting married, and it is getting harder and harder to find people who will commit to ministry, church, or really anything.  Many of us have experienced the sting of being forsaken and abandoned by friends, leaders we looked up to, and people we have trusted.  However, the good news today is that God has never forsaken us, and He never will!

​We are at the end of June.  How the time has flown by these last couple of months!  It seems that even with the sheltering and chaos in our world, time keeps marching on at a blinding pace.  But God is still sovereign.  And as we hurtle through time and space—drawing ever nearer to Christ’s return—I have a worship song for us that will remind us of God’s faithfulness and the fact that though our world is changing, our God is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Welcome to another week on “Here I Am to Worship”! I hope you were able to catch the powerful message I shared with you last week from Passion City Church.  Worship is an important part of our Christian walk.  Therefore, understanding and learning how to do it well is vital to walking in the abundant fullness of God’s intended design.  So I hope you were challenged to offer to God an extravagant, unrestrained response to His goodness in your life through worship. 

​We’re living in crazy times.  Just when we thought things couldn’t get much worse, they did.  However, in the midst of the crazy, in the middle of the uncertainty and chaos, we have a refuge we can run to.  Proverbs 18:10 assures us that, “The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous man runs into it and is safe.”  Therefore, as we face a season where fear and anger abounds, let us run to our place of safety, the name of the Lord.

​A new week and a new day to celebrate what God has done in our lives.  While it may seem like everything in life has hit pause, God is working in us to shape and refine us.  If anything, He’s doing more work in each of our hearts during this season because we have time to focus on Him.  So don’t be afraid of the extra quiet.  Don’t resent the refining moments as you share close proximity with those you’re sheltering in place with.  Don’t tune out the still, small voice of God as He whispers truth and correction into your heart.  Embrace it, and use this time to grow in the Lord.  

We’re living in unprecedented times.  This phrase has been a buzz phrase over the past few months as the world tries to wrap its head around what is happening with COVID-19.  We have never lived through something like this before.  Governments have never enacted such broad, economically devastating policies before.  The world as we know it has shifted like the earth’s tectonic plates.  The novel coronavirus has rocked our world and the aftershocks will be felt for a while.  The media even uses earthquake language as it conveys updates on what the national and global epicenters for COVID-19 are. 

​April 1st.  April Fool’s Day.  But today is no joke.  Today is the beginning of the month leading to Easter.  Today in the midst of the panic that has gripped our world, we’re going to forget the crazy, forget the stress, forget the unknowns, and choose to worship and remember all that this season represents for us as believers in the Risen Lord.  So take a moment to find a quiet space and reflect on all that Jesus has done for you and what your response to that gift will be.