Tag: god is with us

Goodness of God

The next entry for my Blog is Goodness of God, which was written by Ben Fielding, Brian Johnson, Edward Martin Cash, Jason Ingram, and Jenn Johnson.  It was first released January 4, 2019.  A link to CeCe Winans singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

I love You, Lord
For Your mercy never fails me
All my days, I’ve been held in Your hands
From the moment that I wake up
Until I lay my head
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

I love Your voice
You have led me through the fire
In darkest night You are close like no other
I’ve known You as a Father
I’ve known You as a Friend
And I have lived in the goodness of God, yeah

‘Cause all my life You have been faithful, oh yes You have
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I will sing of the goodness of God

Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me

With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything, oh Lord
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me (oh yeah, oh yeah)
Your goodness is running after, it’s running after me
With my life laid down, I surrendered now
I give You everything
Your goodness is running after, it keeps running after meAnd all my life You have been faithful
And all my life You have been so, so good
With every breath that I am able
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
I’m gonna sing

All my life You have been faithful
(All of my life You’ve been faithful)
All my life You have been so, so good
(So good with every breath)
every breath that I am able
(Every breath I’m able)
I will sing (I’m gonna sing)
Of the goodness (of the goodness of God, yes I am)
I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God
Oh, I’m gonna sing of the goodness of God

I would like for you to stop for a minute and think about the very first line in this song, “I love you Lord.”  Have you really taken time to tell God how much you love him and thank him for all he has done for you, your family, and your friends?  I strongly believe most of us spend a lot more time asking things of God as opposed to thanking him for every blessing of every day.  I would like for you to take some time right now to think about why you love someone and make sure that God gets that same amount love if not more.

Love is such a powerful word, but we don’t always stop to think about what it means.  This song does a great job telling us what God is doing every day in our lives and how he runs after us because he loves us and never gives up on us.  Wherever we go, he is there with us.  Whenever we try to run from him, he runs beside us.  Whenever we try to hide, he finds us.  Whenever we feel like we cannot fight any longer and fall to our knees in despair, he is there to join us in the battles of life.  When we are lonely and feel unloved, his arms are wrapped around us.  As you think about these things and remember how he kept you safe, how can you not love God?  God’s mercy, his unending forgiveness, is there to bring us peace; regardless of the mistakes we have made in our lives or the times we have ignored him.

Not only is God with us at all times, his hand is always extended to us so we never have to walk alone, no matter the challenges we are facing.  It doesn’t matter where we are, where we have been, or where we are going; his love surrounds us.   Think about all of the challenges in life you have faced.  Now, think about how you survived those challenges.  You survived because God was there with you the entire time and had his arms wrapped around you, you just didn’t realize it.  In our greatest moments of hopelessness, despair, and darkness;  God was always there to lead us back into the light.  The song writers state how they love the voice of God.  Some may say I have never heard the voice of God.  Is his voice a booming sound that wakes us up and brings us back to reality?  In our times of despair, we may feel as if we need a loud voice to bring us out of our despair.  The reality is that if we have accepted God’s son Jesus as our personal savior, the holy spirit dwells within us and is our internal communication link with God, we find this in the book of John 14:26, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”  All we have to do is open our hearts and minds to God and we will be able to hear that still small voice.  It is that voice that helps to calm the storms of life we face, and bring us an inner peace as we fight our battles.  The Holy Spirit is with us from the day we accept Jesus until the day our life on earth is no more.  This is what the goodness of God is all about, he loves us unconditionally and sees no fault in any of us who have accepted him and his son.

I love the line in the song, “your goodness is running after, it’s running after me.”  Most of us probably have the tendency to believe that we have to reach out to God and get his attention before he can help us.  The reality is he is trying to get our attention to keep us out of the situations we get into, but we tend to ignore him until we are in complete desperation.  In effect, he is trying to head off the issues ahead of us, but we don’t take the time to ask for or listen to his guidance.  We seem to prefer to proceed with doing things we shouldn’t do instead of listening to that still small voice that is reaching out to us.  He is always faithful to us, even when we are unfaithful to him.  In some ways it is like parenting.  As a parent, I want to watch out for my children and try to keep them out of trouble, but there is only so much I can do when my children don’t listen.  Even when my children disobey me and choose their own paths, I still love them as much as I always have.  We find commitments of God’s eternal faithfulness to us throughout the bible and here are just a couple of the many passages of scripture.  Psalm 108:4 “For Your mercy is great above the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.”   Psalm 117:2 “For His merciful kindness is great toward us, and the faithfulness of the Lord endures forever.” 

Since God has been there with us every step of every day, isn’t it time for us to praise him with every breath we take and time to sing of his mercy and his grace?  It is time to stop running away from God, it is time to fall into the security of his promises and his love.  Are you one of the people who have continued to run from God?  If so, isn’t it time for you to quit running away and accept his son as your savior?

 Select to hear CeCe Winans Sing the  Goodness of God

Battle Belongs

The next entry for my Blog is Battle Belongs, which was written by Brian Johnson and Phil Wickham.  It was first released September 4, 2020.  A link to Phil Wickham singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Battle Belongs


When all I see is the battle, You see my victory
When all I see is the mountain, You see a mountain moved
And as I walk through the shadow, Your love surrounds me
There’s nothing to fear now for I am safe with You

So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You

And if You are for me, who can be against me? Yeah
For Jesus, there’s nothing impossible for You
When all I see are the ashes, You see the beauty
Thank You God
When all I see is a cross, God, You see the empty tomb

So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You

Almighty fortress, You go before us
Nothing can stand against the power of our God
You shine in the shadow, You win every battle
Nothing can stand against the power of our God

An almighty fortress, You go before us
Nothing can stand against the power of our God
You shine in the shadow, You win every battle
Nothing can stand against the power of our God

An almighty fortress, You go before us
Nothing can stand against the power of our God
You shine in the shadows, You win every battle
Nothing can stand against the power of our God

So when I fight, I’ll fight on my knees
With my hands lifted high
Oh God, the battle belongs to You
And every fear I lay at Your feet
I’ll sing through the night
Oh God, the battle belongs to You

Oh God, the battle belongs to You

Do you often have those days when you just want to pull the covers over your head and shut out the world?  I think most of us have this happen to us from time to time.  So many days, from the moment we open our eyes, we see the battles ahead and we are just not ready to engage.  It may be a daily battle or a seemingly forever battle, but either way; we are just weary of all of the challenges that life throws our way.  Instead of thinking about the upcoming challenges, how often do you wake up and the first thing you do is to thank God for giving you another day and ask him to walk with you every step of the day?  Think about the fact from the perspective that there are many people who never see tomorrow.  I believe that one of the biggest issues we face in life is we believe we are always fighting these battles alone; but that is where we are making our mistake.  God is always there to help us face the challenges in front of us and he has a very different view than we do, he already knows how today’s battle will end and he knows what lies before us.  We are too focused on the challenges of today, where we failed yesterday, and what we will face tomorrow.  Yes, there are daily battles, mountains to climb, and darkness that will overwhelm us; but our focus is to remember who holds the future and what the future holds for each of us.  We are told in II Corinthians 4:17-18, “For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.   So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” 

The writer of this song has taken an approach that is drastically different from our normal way of doing things, he is telling us to fight from our knees.  Interestingly enough, this is the strongest position when preparing for battle or while we are in the midst of battle.  This is indeed a powerful challenge for us, and we wonder, how can this be possible?  We are so used to depending on ourselves to fight the battle that we forget about the presence of God.  In this song, the writer tells us to fall on our knees as we prepare to face the battle, raise up our hands, pray to our heavenly father and give the battle to him.  In 2 Chronicles 20:15, we find this promise from God, “Do not be afraid or discouraged… For the battle is not yours, but God’s.”  The most important battle, the fight for eternal life, has already been won for us.  Christ died on the cross for each of us so that we would never be alone, we would never fight our battles alone, and we would spend eternity with him.  Once we accept Christ as our personal savior, we are guaranteed that eternal life.  He is our fortress, his light destroys the darkness, he makes beauty from ashes, and where we see Jesus dying on the cross, he sees the empty tomb.

We serve an all-powerful invincible God who never leaves our side, why should we  ever be afraid?  The best way to feel the power, love, and support of God is to begin every day with prayer, pray whenever you can during the day, and end every day in prayer.  God is always watching us and wants to talk to us through prayer.  We are told in 1 Thessalonian 5:17, “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing. In all circumstances give thanks, for this is the will of God for you in Christ Jesus.”

It is time for each of us to learn this new way of fighting our battles, it is the only way we can win.

Click to Hear Phil Wickham Sing Battle Belongs

I Will Carry You

The next entry for my Blog is I Will Carry You, which was written by Benjamin Glover and Ellie Holcombe.  It was first released June 15, 2021.  A link to Ellie Holcombe singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog. 

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

I Will Carry You

I know you’re tired, I see it in your eyes
All that anxiety that rules your mind
I’ll be your shield when you don’t feel like
You’ve got strength enough to fight
I’ll stand by your side

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

You are not the sum of your mistakes
You don’t have to hide the parts of you that ache
I choose you as you are a million times
‘Cause I am not ashamed of you
I won’t walk away from you

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

Up and over the mountains
Valley deep as the ocean
When you can’t keep going
I will shoulder your burdens
Up and over the mountains
Valley deep as the ocean
When you can’t keep going
I will shoulder your burdens

I will carry you
Through your darkest night
When you’re terrified
I will carry you (carry you)
When the waters rise
When your hope runs dry
I will carry you

I will carry you, carry you
Through the darkest night (you)
When you’re terrified
(I will shoulder your burdens)
I will carry you, carry you
When the waters rise (you)
I will carry you

I think we all go through times in our lives when we feel as if we just can’t take another step.  You have become so physically tired and emotionally drained that you just want to curl up in bed and stay there.  You have so much going on in your life that you can’t think straight and all of your strength has completely dissipated.  As you lay down and try to relax, your mind just keeps going as you try to resolve your problems, but there seems to be no off switch for your swirling thoughts.  Have you been in this situation before?  Perhaps you are now.  What is so easy to forget in all of this darkness is that we are never truly alone nor are we a lost cause in life.  God is there to stand with us, to lift us up, to carry us, and to help us fight the battle of life.  Psalm 16:8 reminds us of God’s diligence to each of us, “I know the LORD is always with me. I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.” 

. 

The chorus of the song tells us that no matter how dark the world around us may become, God will walk with us.  When we are afraid, he is there to comfort us and help us to feel inner peace and strength that only he can give.  Even as we feel as if we are being swallowed or feel as if we have fallen under the raging storm of fear and guilt; he picks us up and carries us.  He is the only true hope for the hopeless, the only strength for the weak, and the only one who can bring sunshine to our personal world of darkness.  I believe this chorus does a wonderful job explaining how God is with us every step of the way and he will never leave our side.

I have heard people say that they are a complete failure.  They will also say they have never succeeded in any aspect of their life.  These people feel as if they are just one big mistake and have nothing to offer in life.  Perhaps we all feel this way at times, especially when we focus on the negatives of the past in lieu of the brightness of the future.  We look at others around us with their happy families, their high paying jobs, their nice homes; and we wonder what we did wrong that would keep us from having these same wonderful things.  We just keep believing it is because we are not good enough or we have just been a complete failure since the day we were born  God does not look at our life and keep score of positives and negatives, God only looks at what we can be.  The world judges us by our successes and failures, God measures us through the eyes of a father who knows that all of his children are special to him.  It is because of him that we even have a life, and he will never give up on us.  He also understands our fears and our failures, but his arms are always outstretched to hold us.  He is never ashamed of what we have done and will never turn his back on us.  He has a plan for each of us, it may not be a smooth journey; but his plan never fails.  We are told this in the book of Jeremiah 28:11-12, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you.”  If we choose to take God’s son as our personal savior, God forgives and forgets all of the bad things we have done in our lives.  He is only focused on what’s ahead for all of eternity, he has forgiven and forgotten our past.  We are who we become, not who we were in the past.

God is with us always and walks with us every step in our journey through life.  He is there to hold our hand and guide us, to carry us when necessary, to encourage us, and bring us hope.  There is no mountain too high for him to climb, no valley too deep, and no sea bottom beyond his reach.  We are told this in the book of Romans 8:38-39, “ For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[k] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”   What more can we ask for in our lives?  God has committed to being there for us and since he created the world, there is nothing that he can’t overcome.

If you are struggling with your past and worried about being all you can be in your future, I recommend listening to this song a few times.  I believe it will bring you hope and allow you to look to the future as you gradually walk away from your past.

God will carry you to where you need to be, if you only let him.

Click to Hear Ellie Holcombe Sing I Will Carry You