Rambling Thoughts

I have been so struck lately by the sweetness and kindness of Jesus, his concern for every detail of our life – every concern. Nothing surprises him and nothing is too small or insignificant for his loving attention. I have also been reminded of how BIG he is; his plans and ways are surely more than we can imagine or see. He does give us glimpses into the plans at times but we wait patiently for him to unveil the bigger picture. That used to drive me crazy, being by nature, pretty impatient. However, that is something the Lord has freed me from to a large extent – at least when it comes to waiting on him. That’s not to say that I don’t still feel that sense of anticipation and excitement – the “can’t wait” feeling to see where God’s leading. Even when I move from anticipation and excitement and fall into the trap of worry and stress, I can still know that peace that can only come from the Lord and from trusting that his will for my life is always good and perfect. How freeing that is!


A passage from Zephaniah 3 has been on my mind, in large part due to a song by my favorite contemporary Christian singer. Bebo Norman has a song called “Sing Over Me”. A line from the chorus grabs me every time I hear it: “sing over me, sing above the noise that I’ve been making”. How often I feel that my thoughts are so busy and so noisy that I can’t even hear God’s still small voice. Which is why I love the words in that song; they remind me that God is bigger than the noise in my head. He’s not handicapped by my failure to have the “right” kind of quiet time, the proper heart-attitude. The Zephaniah verse is this: “The LORD your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.” (Zephaniah 3:17) Just think of all that verse tells us about God: he’s present – in our midst, he’s mighty, and he’s so very delighted in us! He rejoices over us and exults over us with loud singing --- not just whistling a happy tune, but singing loudly because of us! Incredible!! And those times when we’re so out of sorts, so dis-quieted, worried, stressed-out - his love will quiet us, settle us and bring us peace, calm the noises that distract us so.


While these two paragraphs may seem totally unrelated (and maybe they are) the sweetness and kindness of Jesus, his nearness, his joy over us, his peace that calms the storms in our lives or calms US in those storms, his guidance even when we’re not sure where he’s leading us ---- all of that is what keeps me awed and amazed. The scriptures tell us that God’s mercies are new every morning. Beyond that, our relationship with him – a living, growing relationship – is new every morning as well. I love being surprised by God – surprised by how much he loves us and the lengths he will go to remind us of his loving attention and presence in our life. I love the gentle nudges and reminders – even if they come from songs on my iPod – that our God is singing over us with a loud voice, rejoicing over us with gladness! How amazing!