How Can You Not

The next entry for my Blog is How Can You Not, which was written by Jeff Sojka, Leanna Crawford, and Jessie Parker Early.  It was first published in 2022.  A link to Leanna Crawford singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

How Can You Not

… I see the sun rise in the morning
And a million stars at night
I hear the birds, they can’t stop singing hallelujah
I see His goodness when I fall down
And it’s grace that picks me up
Every day, I can’t stop singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… I see the sunset and I wonder
If He paints it just for me
Nobody else could make a world so beautiful
How could I question His love when it’s everywhere I go
Wherever I look, I find another miracle

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved?
How can you not? How can you not?
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… Everything is evidence (ooh-ooh)
Showing me that You exist (oh-oh)
All creation singing hallelujah
Everything is evidence (oh, everything)
Showing me that You exist (He’s God)
All creation singing hallelujah

… How can you not see God
In every little thing, in every little moment?
How can you not feel loved? Hmm-mm
‘Cause He’s in the middle of
Every little thing and every little moment
How can you not see God?
How can you not? How can you not?

… Oh, how can you not see God (everything is evidence)
In every little thing, in every little moment? (Showing me that You exist)
How can you not feel loved? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not? (Hallelujah)
‘Cause He’s in the middle of (everything is evidence)
Every little thing and every little moment (showing me that You exist)
How can you not see God? (All creation singing)
How can you not? How can you not?

Many people may ask, how do you know if there is a God if you can’t see him?  I believe this song really takes on this challenge.  Most of us have the opportunity to see a sunrise every morning.  I understand we may not be up to see the majesty of a sunrise, but it still happens.  Some of the most beautiful sunrises for me are those across the water or coming over the mountains.  It also seems as if the birds even enjoy these sunrises; they seem to be singing more often and more loudly as a new day begins.  I see more sunsets and they have just as much beauty as the sunrises.  How many times have you stared up at a dark sky that is full of seemingly twinkling stars.  My wife and I love to take trips away from the city lights and one of the benefits is we get to see those dazzling twinkling stars fill the sky. 

How about the things that happen in your life that maybe you take for granted?  You woke up yet another day.  You wake up with a plan to do good and be faithful to God, perhaps every day; but then you quickly stumble and your plan fails once again.  If you trust in God and believe in him, he is there to pick you up.  He lifts you up, helps restore your confidence, and lets you go on your way again.   He doesn’t ask anything of us, he doesn’t hold our mistakes against us; he just puts us on our feet yet once again.  His grace and his unconditional never-ending love are with us always, as long as we have accepted his son as our personal savior.  We should be singing his praises and thanking him every day.

Can someone truly believe that all of this just happens by accident, that the heavens just happened to come into existence in a spontaneous manner without a plan?  That the sun and stars just magically appear?  How can someone explain the powerful feeling of emotion and love that sometimes just hits us out of nowhere.  There are times when I feel an inner strength that seemingly comes from nowhere.  Some things are just hard to explain, such as how did I find the right woman to spend my life with?  How can these people explain the wonder and majesty of the sun, the stars, the seas, and the natural wonders that are found across our world.  Have you ever held a baby or small child who looked up at you and gave you that beautiful smile that only a little one can give?  Nothing happens by accident.  As the writer says, how can we not believe in God when we are surrounded by all of his marvelous creations, the people he brings into our lives, and the love that we feel deep inside of us.  The writer emphasizes how can they not believe when they are standing in the middle of God’s creations every single day.  The people who say they cannot feel and see the creations of God, are like people who are standing in the middle of a deep lake and wondering where the water is.  People become so wrapped up in their own little self-made cocoon and miss out on everything God is offering them.

I personally love watching a sunset and I love the question posed by the writer, did God paint the sunset just for me?  Some people may think that is a selfish view, but I think every sunset is beautiful and we all see different things in a sunset.  Each of us may see different color variations and different cloud shapes, that is why God made all of us a little different.  Although we may not all look or act the same, the beauty he creates amazes all of us.  The difference is that many of us understand that we all came from God’s master plan as revealed in the bible and others see the beauty but don’t understand the master plan.  The master plan is that God really wants all of us to spend eternity with him in heaven; after all, we are his children.  Even though he gives us all of the beauties of this world and shows us his love, many of us fail to recognize him and his plan.  All he asks of us is to accept his only son Jesus, who died on the cross for each of us, so that we could have eternal life with him.  Almost everyone can admire the beautiful mountains, seas, skies, and have other people to love; but they are not willing to admit that we have one creator who created all of this as part of a master plan.  He tells us that he has a plan in Jeremiah 29:11, “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.”

In the midst of all God has done and continues to do, how can you not believe in him?

Click to Hear Leanna Crawford Sing How Can You Not

Come As You Are – Entry #1 of 5

The next song for my Blog was written by Ben Glover, David Crowder, Matt Maher and was first released in 2014.  A link to David Crowder performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

Come As You Are

Come out of sadness
From wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin
Come find your mercy
Oh sinner come kneel
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are

There’s hope for the hopeless
And all those who’ve strayed
Come sit at the table
Come taste the grace
There’s rest for the weary
Rest that endures
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t cure

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are

Fall in his arms
Come as you are
There’s joy for the morning
Oh sinner be still
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal
Earth has no sorrow
That heaven can’t heal

So lay down your burdens
Lay down your shame
All who are broken
Lift up your face
Oh wanderer come home
You’re not too far
So lay down your hurt
Lay down your heart
Come as you are
Come as you are
Come as you are

I will begin the first entry in this Blog by analyzing the following lines.

Come out of sadness
From wherever you’ve been
Come broken hearted
Let rescue begin

We all go through times in our lives when we experience sadness to some degree. We lose loved ones, we lose pets, we lose a job, we hurt someone’s feelings, have a broken relationship; all of these types of occurrences cause us to be sad and maybe even feel very alone. In times like this, there are days when we feel that our lives are crumbling. We may in fact want people to leave us alone while we work through the difficult time; but the reality is we need someone to help us regardless of the source of our sadness. Too many times we delay getting that assistance to help bring joy back into our hearts and our sadness just continues to linger and the hole we are in gets deeper and deeper. Jesus left us with the Holy Spirit who is to be our constant companion and our comforter so we would never be alone and we would always have Jesus with us at all times.

Broken hearts can be devastating and it is so hard to heal a broken heart. Broken hearts can cause depression, may make us feel as if our lives are completely lost and there is no hope for the future. During a time of being broken hearted, we may doubt our own self-worth. I also believe that those we have loved the most are the ones who can give us a broken heart that we feel can never be healed. We are always told that only time can mend a broken heart and that is probably true from an earthly perspective, but that time and that pain can be decreased or eliminated by turning to God for help. We need to consider a couple of actions, one is to turn to God to ease our pain and the other is to think about the plan God has for us that will be the eternal plan for our life.

The rescue from our pain / the healing of our broken heart starts by putting our pain at the feet of Jesus. He tell us in John 14:27 that his peace is a peace that only he can give; it is a peace we cannot get from anyone in this world. I realize this is easier said than done, but it is the first step in the process of healing; let go and have faith that Jesus will take this burden away. The verse says: “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.” In Christ alone can we get the true peace, healing, and rescue that we need.

We need to remember that God has an eternal plan for our life, take a look at what Revelation 21:4 says about all of our suffering: “He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” We are also told in Jeremiah 29:11: “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” So, yes, God knows we will have suffering due to the sins of this world; but he also reminds us that our physical life is only a blip when looking at the eternal life scale. Things may be painful today, but God has a bright future planned for us and we cannot even begin to imagine what is in his glorious plan!

Click Here to See Crowder Perform Come as You Are