He Was There All the Time

The next entry for my Blog is He Was There All the Time, which was written by Gary Paxton and released in 1980. A link to the Blackwood Brothers performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

He Was There All the Time

Time after time I went searching for peace in some void
I was trying to blame
All my ills on this world I was in
Surface relationships used me ’til I was done in
And all of the while someone was begging to free me from sin

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

Never again Will I look for a fake rainbow’s end
Now that I have the answer My life is just starting to rhyme
Sharing each new day with Him Is a cup of fresh wine
And oh what I missed, He’s been waiting right there all the time

He was there all the time
He was there all the time
Waiting patiently in line
He was there all the time

When you believe you are on the verge of depression or just ready to give up on everybody and everything, what do you do? I am sure there are days where you just want to stay in bed and pull the covers over your head, perhaps you feel as if you want to crawl under a rock and hide from the world, and some people just wish they could just end it all. Maybe you have these bad times and turn to alcohol, or food, or even drugs. The end result is that none of the above brings forever happiness. Some of the options I listed perhaps bring some temporary relief, but all of the issues causing your negative feelings are still there. The sad part is we get into a vicious spiral that takes us down to rock bottom and we have a tendency to stay there.

While in this period of darkness in our lives, we try to blame anyone and everyone for the situation we are in. We want the blame to fall on someone else so we can shift the anger to that person, those people, or that thing. Maybe you start thinking you are too old, too big, too small, of the wrong race, of the wrong nationality, your friends are to blame, your parents are to blame……… We depend on other people so much in our lives, and inevitably they let us down. Some let us down unintentionally, although the pain is real, and we discover that some people were not the people we thought they were.

I believe all of us have misery in our lives and just don’t know where to turn. The problem is that we explore every option to eliminate our unhappiness, and maybe then we turn to Jesus. As the song says, Jesus is always there; he has his hand out and is always asking you, begging you, to dedicate your life to him. Although the things and people around us may let us down, we are told in Hebrews 13:5 that “God will never leave us nor forsake us.” In Matthew 28:20, Jesus tells us “I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” So, the real problem is we try to solve all of our issues on our own or rely on those arounds us, but no one has the answers you seek except our Lord and Savior. All we have to do is open our minds and our hearts and take his hand so he can lead us through the darkness we are facing. He has always been there and will always be there and there is no end to his patience. No matter how stubborn we are, or how much we turn our backs on him, he patiently stands before us with open arms.

As we go about our lives, we endure a lot of rainbows that promise a pot of gold, but seldom does it work that way. We all have hopes and dreams, and sometimes they do come true, but too many times they do not because we try to be successful on our own. Think of how life could be if we walked in lockstep with our Savior toward our hopes and dreams. By being in step with Jesus, we will be marching toward goals he helped us to set as opposed to goals we set on our own. By being in collaboration with Jesus, we will never face that false rainbow again because we will be doing what he wants us to do, and by accepting Christ as our Savior we have the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, it is eternal life.

We need to begin each day communicating with our Savior, walk with him every day, and then end our day still talking with him. If we don’t walk with him and talk with him, how can we understand what his plans are for us today and for eternity? Does your faith lie more with your friends, your family, your possessions; or does it lie in the hands of Jesus? Imagine starting and ending every day with Jesus on your mind and in your heart, allowing him to bring some peace to you as your day ends and the next day begins. Having Christ with you doesn’t mean that you will no longer have struggles and challenges in your life or that everyday is going to be a great day, but it does mean that you will never face your world alone. Even though we face this darkness in our earthly life; Christ has promised us an eternity of peace and joy once we reach our heavenly home.

He is there all the time, just waiting for you.

Click to Hear the Blackwood Brothers Perform He Was There All the Time

Fill My Cup Lord

This next song was written by Richard Blanchard and released in 1964. A link to CRC performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Fill My Cup Lord

Like the woman at the well I was seeking
For things that could not satisfy:
And then I heard my Savior speaking:
Draw from my well that never shall run dry

Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more–
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole

So, my brother, if the things this world gave you
Leave hungers that won’t pass away,
My blessed Lord will come and save you,
If you kneel to Him and humbly pray

Fill my cup Lord, I lift it up, Lord!
Come and quench this thirsting of my soul;
Bread of heaven, Feed me till I want no more–
Fill my cup, fill it up and make me whole

What makes you happy? Maybe it is a relationship, an awesome vacation, a new car, a new house, a baby? When you do obtain what makes you happy, how long does the happiness last? As the happiness starts to wane, we typically start looking for the next fad for happiness. I believe the above is the cycle for most people. Basically we have difficulty settling in with what we have and who we are and we therefore spend a life in pursuit of happiness. This becomes an ongoing activity throughout our lives.

We are very much like the woman at the well described in John 4:4-42. I am only extracting verses 13-15 for purposes of this entry, but encourage you to look at the entire passage: Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” Everyday this woman comes to the well to get fresh water because she is thirsty and needs this water to meet her everyday needs. Jesus was obviously speaking from a spiritual perspective and she was initially thinking from a physical perspective.

As the life of the woman unfolded, I believe she is somewhat like all of us in that she could never find true permanent happiness. Jesus is the only one who can give that happiness and it is a joy that is in the soul. The soul is eternal, therefore isn’t it better to focus on eternal joy as opposed to temporary joy? Jesus is the only one who can bring this type of joy, the joy that only comes with a cup that is always overflowing with his love and promise of eternity. Yes, it is great to have that new home, that new car, a wonderful vacation and I hope you have them all; but these things only help us to live for the moment. As we lift up our cup and give our lives to Christ, we experience joy and peace as we have never known and our cup will always be running over.

We will go through life wanting excitement, new things, and fun and this is ok; but is it enough? The world will bring us a lot of good things and a lot of bad and we will sort of be living on a rollercoaster as we look for that one thing that brings us joy. The only way to get the real peace and joy is to give ourselves completely to Christ. We each need to fall on our knees and ask him to come into our hearts and dictate our lives instead of us being in the driver’s seat. Once we do this, we can have that permanent peace inside of us. It is true that we will still enjoy things in our lives, but we will also realize that the only permanent joy comes from Christ and dwells within us at all times. The good news is we can also start getting the joy of sharing this love with others, just as Jesus did with the woman at the well. We can become a blessing to others while living the life Christ expects of us while enjoying the things he puts before us each day.

How will your cup be filled and who or what will be the one filling it?

Click to Hear Fill My Cup Lord