Perfectly Loved

The next entry for my Blog is Perfectly Loved, which was written by Andrew Ripp, Ethan Hulse, and Rachel Lampa.  It was first released April 8, 2022.  A link to Rachel Lamp and TobyMac singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Who said that you weren’t beautiful
And that you didn’t belong in your own skin?
Who said that you were all alone
And that you’re never gonna find love again?

So many little words, so many little lies
That have followed you all of your life
Looking for the truth, look into your eyes
And you’ll see it’s been there the whole time

Ooh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment, you’ve always been perfectly loved
Ooh, perfectly loved
You’ve always been perfectly

In the hands of the Infinite
As the wounds of the world became His
See the kindness Heaven has for you
And how He’s always been drawing you in

So many open doors (so many open doors), so many miracles (so many)
That have followed you all of your life
Looking for the truth (looking for the truth), look into your eyes (oh)
And you’ll see its been there the whole time

Ooh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment you’ve always been perfectly loved
Ooh, perfectly loved
Ooh

You’re not a problem
You’re not a mistake
Don’t need fixing or solving
In the arms of His grace

You’re perfectly human
Made from the dust
You’ve got a heart, broken and scarred, yet perfectly loved

Oh, even when you were running
Even when you were hiding
Never been a moment that you were not perfectly loved
When you barely believed it (when you barely believed it)
When your eyes couldn’t see it
Every single moment you’ve always been perfectly loved
Perfectly loved
You’ve always been perfectly loved

Ooh
Perfectly loved
You have always been perfectly loved

Have you ever been told that were not pretty, or beautiful, or handsome?  Perhaps you were told that you were too skinny or too big or perhaps that you had an unusually shaped body.  Maybe you were told you didn’t have the right looks.  As young people, we may have been made fun of by groups of other people.  It seems as if their mission in life was to ridicule others and just make them feel unworthy.  In some instances, people are denied jobs because they don’t have that right look, however right look is defined.  The really sad part in all of this is that many people are actually scarred for life because of the ridicule they faced in their younger days.  As these scarred people enter adulthood, they firmly believe that no one will ever love them and that they will live a life alone.  It is so easy for some people to feel they are not good enough whenever they experience these types of situations.  It also seems there are some people who have the right look, the right build, the right personality, and seemingly glide through life never understanding those who didn’t fit the perfect model that the world expects.  We may be the one in the background saying please pick me.  I know I have painted sort of a grim picture, but I firmly believe there are people who fit this mold and many of us have felt this way at some point in our lives.  What is most important and perhaps more challenging in some ways is that we need to focus on what God wants us to look like.  In 1 Peter 3:3-4, we are told what God expects, “Don’t be concerned about the outward beauty of fancy hairstyles, expensive jewelry, or beautiful clothes. You should clothe yourselves instead with the beauty that comes from within, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is so precious to God.”  Many people may say that this scripture is directed to women, but I believe it really speaks to men and women, especially the second sentence.  I also believe that the first sentence can apply to both sexes, especially in today’s world.  The bible also tells us that we were created in the image of God.  We find this in Genesis 1:27, “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.”   This scripture is talking about our inner self and our spirit, not the external body.  God loves us because of who we truly are on the inside.  Our closest friends know us and love us based on who we are and do not take the worldly view of our physical appearance.  It is our inner spirit that communicates with God, our external look means nothing in his eyes.

We can try to run and hide from the world and all it represents, but we can never hide or get away from God.  He has always loved us even when we were trying to run and hide from him and the world.  Since he is always with us and loves us unconditionally with a never-ending love, it is impossible to hide from him.  So even in your deepest darkest moments, he is there to bring you peace and love.  All we have to do is open our heart and let our inner spirit rejoice in his love.  No matter what we do our how much we change, God’s love for us never waivers, it is an eternal love that no one can take away and is also something we can never escape.  In the eyes of God, we are never a problem, we are his perfect creation and his love is unconditional.

Some of the people who read this may be thinking that God has never been there for them.  They believe that God is merely a name or a spirit that cannot be touched or seen, so how do we know he is there and that he truly does love us.  Take a few minutes to think about some of the challenges that you have faced in life.  As some of those challenges ended, did you ever think about how these challenges were overcome?  Was there someone new who came into your life?  Did you get that job you thought you would never find?  Did you suddenly find out that you could have that child when you thought it would never happen?  These types of questions tend to be non-stop, but take some time to focus on answers that have come along the way.  Do you believe that some of these issues in your life just magically went away?  It is God who is in the middle of this and he is the one answering your requests and the only one who has never failed you.  He brought that right person or people into your life, he helped you get that right job, he helped you when your heart was lonely, he helped you get food when you were hungry.  God alone can meet your needs and he is the only one who will love you unconditionally for your entire life.  He has known us since before we were born and he has great plans for each of us.  We are told this is Jeremiah 1:5 “Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.”  Just as God had a plan for Jeremiah the prophet, he has a plan for each of us. 

God also tells us in Psalm 139:13-14 that he knew us before we were born, “For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb.  I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”   I believe that if you take the time and focus on the 2 scriptures above and reflect back on your life, you will find that you were never really alone; you were just unaware of God’s hand reaching out to you.  You have never been truly alone and never will be, all you have to do is open your hearts and feel God’s love and presence.  He alone will never leave us or forsake us.  God is never-ending and perfect love.

You indeed are perfectly loved.

Click to hear Rachel Lampa and TobyMac sing Perfectly Loved

10,000 Reasons

The next entry for my Blog is 10,000 Reasons, which was written by ‎Jonas Myrin‎ and ‎Matt Redman. The song was initially released in 2011. A link to Matt Redman performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

10,000 Reasons (Bless the Lord)

(Chorus)
Bless the Lord, O my soul
O my soul
Worship His holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name

The sun comes up, it’s a new day dawning
It’s time to sing Your song again
Whatever may pass, and whatever lies before me
Let me be singing when the evening comes

Chorus

You’re rich in love, and You’re slow to anger
Your name is great, and Your heart is kind
For all Your goodness I will keep on singing
Ten thousand reasons for my heart to find

Chorus

And on that day when my strength is failing
The end draws near and my time has come
Still my soul will sing Your praise unending
Ten thousand years and then forevermore

Chorus (2)

Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
Lord, I’ll worship Your holy name
Sing like never before
O my soul
I’ll worship Your holy name
Jesus, I’ll worship Your holy name
I’ll worship Your holy name

This song is a little different since it starts off with the chorus, but I believe it is intentional in that the chorus reminds us of the way we should be all day every day. In blessing our Lord, we are making him first, we are honoring him, we are letting him know that there is none greater than he, and we are giving him all honor and glory. He gave us the Holy Spirit to stay with us, comfort us, and remind us of his presence. When we bless God, our words and our honoring of him should come from deep within us; it is not the words we say, but the love and thankfulness we express. When we worship him, we are thanking him for what he has done for everyone who has accepted his son as our Savior, how he is there to give us strength in every step we take, and how he brings light into our lives that only he can bring. We should be singing songs of joy, sharing his praises, and letting the whole world know about our God! No where does God say we have to sing well or be eloquent in our words, he just wants us to sing his praises everywhere we go.

As we begin our day, shouldn’t we focus on the most important thing in our lives? The song says that we should start singing our praises as soon as our day begins. I think the key word in this first verse is “again.” This is making the assumption that we ended yesterday praising God, so why not start out the new day praising him? As we encounter the challenges the world throws at us today, we will know that we are not fighting these challenges alone. It doesn’t mean that we won’t face tough times and lose battles along the way, but with God at our side; we know what eternity brings. It is not all about winning every battle you face, it is about approaching the battles with God in your heart and by your side, and knowing that you ultimately win the war. Jesus died for us so we wouldn’t have to worry about our final home, but Satan still tries to steal our joy even though he knows the war ended almost 2000 years ago when Christ died on the cross for us. May the song that started anew in our hearts this morning, continue as our day comes to closure.

God is unfailing love and despite our many faults and many mistakes, he doesn’t turn his back on us or stop loving us. God is very compassionate and caring, but the bible does list many times when he became angry. He became angry and he showed his power and might as he punished those who disobeyed him. The exceptionally good news is that when we accepted Christ as our personal savior, all of our sins and punishment disappeared forever. It is true that we will continue to sin, but God will not see this sin since Jesus took all of our past, current, and future sins to the grave with him. So, when God sees us, he only sees us as being without sin. It is true we will make mistakes and do things we shouldn’t do and end up suffering the consequences of our actions, but God doesn’t get angry since he does not see us as sinners; he sees us as his children who will spend eternity with him. We know people who will forgive and probably never forget and may even get angry at us for a time, but fortunately; God does not act like his children. What would help all of us to stay on the right path would be to think about all of the things God has done for us our entire life. The list of blessings will be more than the 10,000 number offered up by the writers of this song. It seems like a very big number, but it is actually a very small number. Take a moment to think about what you were thankful for yesterday, each one of these are blessings and reasons we should praise our God. Take the number you came up with and multiply by the 365 days in a year, are you surprised? If you then take this number over a lifetime, 10,000 is in indeed a very very small number.

God is with us every hour and every day of our lives and walks every step with us. The day will come when we realize we don’t have much longer before we join our heavenly father. As our life ebbs away, he will still be bestowing blessings upon us. Maybe these blessings are in the people he sends to us, the people we have known in our lives, and maybe our memories; but the most important thing is that he is still by our side. As we finally make the move into our heavenly home, we should be leaving this home with his praises in our hearts and knowing that soon we will be able to praise him face to face. I don’t mean for this to be a somber ending to this blog entry, I just believe that each of us needs to realize that God has always been with us; from the time before we were born until the day we join him in our eternal home. God has been with us since before we were born. He told Jeremiah in Jeremiah 1:5, “Before I made you in your mother’s womb, I chose you. Before you were born, I set you apart for a special work. I appointed you as a prophet to the nations.” We have never been alone and will never be alone.

I hope that you will take the time and think about the blessings God has given you. As you think about these blessings, let your heart sing as it has never sung before. As you leave your home and encounter other people, hopefully someone will ask you why you are so happy today and I hope you will tell them how they can be just as happy as you are. Today, start singing his praises as you have never sung before. As the old hymn tells, count your many blessings, name them one by one, and it will surprise you what the Lord hath done.

Click to Hear Matt Redman Sing 10,000 Reasons