Psalm 121 – Song Dive

Praise You in This Storm

The next entry for my Blog is Praise You in This Storm, which was written by Bernie Herms and John Mark Hall. It was first released in August 30, 2005. A link to the Casting Crowns singing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Praise You in This Storm

I was sure by now
God, You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say, “Amen” and it’s still raining

Well, as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I’ll raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
And every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry to You
And raised me up again
But my strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can’t find You?

But as the thunder rolls
I barely hear Your whisper through the rain
“I’m with you”
And as Your mercy falls
I’ll raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of Heaven and Earth

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?

And I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

And though my heart is torn (though my heart is torn)
I’ll praise You in this storm (praise You in this storm)

I don’t know about you, but I love to sit on my porch and watch a thunderstorm roll in. The thunder and the rain seem to bring a peace to my soul and also a new shade of green and color to all of the flowers and trees around me. Everything looks so clean and fresh once the storm passes. Unfortunately, most of us probably get caught up in the storms of life, which are not quite so pleasant. The lightning, the pouring rain, and rumbling thunder seem to come into our lives for a season and disrupt our joy and happiness. The time gradually comes when we are in the center of our storm and are not sure how much longer we can withstand the darkness that comes with the storm. This song provides a good description of what we all endure, but it also tells us that God hasn’t deserted us; he is in the midst of the storm with us and is there to give us strength, hope, and comfort as the world crashes down around us. Sometimes there are trials we have to face and challenges we have to overcome, but we must keep our faith in God. We anxiously await him to step in and stop the storm, but there are things we have to sometimes endure in life that help us to become the people God wants us to be. What is important is that we realize that God is always there and through it all, we must keep our eyes on God and thank for him for being with us during these troublesome storms. As we struggle to keep our focus on God, we suddenly hear that quiet voice that tells us we are not alone. He is there to remind us that no matter what we may have done to be in this storm; his mercy and his love will surround us. We should thank God as we feel his presence and feel his arms wrap around us.

The chorus reminds us to praise God through the stormy days and the sunny days of our life. God is the only being who can be with us wherever we go. He knows every tear we have shed because he holds those tears in his hand, to show his love for us. Although we may feel alone and deserted by everyone we know and our heart is breaking; God has never left us, nor will he. So, no matter the power and darkness of the storm, he is there and should be praised for never leaving our side.

Have you ever been outside in a powerful wind and tried to walk into that wind? You sort of struggle along just to get to your destination, but it takes away all of your energy. We wonder if we can even make it to our destination. As we fight through the headwinds in life, God is there to help pull us along and to pick us up when we stumble and cry out. We can’t see God, but he is there even if we can’t see him. As our strength gives way and the battle of life continues, he is there to carry us when we can no longer put one foot in front of another. One of the greatest men in the Christian bible, David, often faced overwhelming challenges in his life. He wrote this in Psalm 121, “I lift up my eyes to the mountains, where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep. The LORD watches over you— the LORD is your shade at your right hand; the sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon by night. The LORD will keep you from all harm— he will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.” This should be a great encouragement for all of us. This is a promise that applies to all of those who believe in God and have accepted his son as their personal savior. Perhaps the even better news is that God never sleeps and is with us every hour of every day.

As we are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:16, “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.” He alone deserves our faith, love, and trust.

Are you in the midst of a storm today and just struggling to find your way? If so, have you reached out to the only one who can help you find light in your life again?

Click to Hear Casting Crowns Sing Praise You in this Storm

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

The next entry for my Blog is Tell Your Heart to Beat Again, which was written by Bernie Herms, Matthew West, and Randy Phillips. The song was initially released January 8, 2016. A link to Danny Gokey performing the song is at the bottom of the Blog.

Tell Your Heart to Beat Again

You’re shattered
Like you’ve never been before
The life you knew
In a thousand pieces on the floor
And words fall short in times like these
When this world drives you to your knees
You think you’re never gonna get back
To the you that used to be

Tell your heart to beat again
Close your eyes and breathe it in
Let the shadows fall away
Step into the light of grace
Yesterday’s a closing door
You don’t live there anymore
Say goodbye to where you’ve been
And tell your heart to beat again

Beginning
Just let that word wash over you
It’s alright now
Love’s healing hands have pulled you through
So get back up, take step one
Leave the darkness, feel the sun
‘Cause your story’s far from over
And your journey’s just begun

Let every heartbreak
And every scar
Be a picture that reminds you
Who has carried you this far
‘Cause love sees farther than you ever could
In this moment heaven’s working
Everything for your good

Oh, so tell your heart to beat again

This is a song about the loss of a loved one and suggestions on how to somewhat recover from that loss. Note that I do not even pretend to know how each of you are impacted by a significant loss such as this, I am just sharing my views. The singer of this song actually lost his wife at an early age and this is his story. Just imagine losing the one person in your life who you loved the most and who felt the same about you. Many of you have perhaps had to live through this situation already. As this happens, the world around you just shatters and comes crashing down in small pieces. There are no words that bring comfort and no embrace that can fill your empty and broken heart. At this point in time, you probably can’t even imagine making it through today, much less tomorrow. The whole weight of the world has suddenly fallen upon your shoulders as you crumble to your knees. One of the biggest challenges for us, is how do we rise out of the deep dark pit of loss and our intense feeling of loneliness? Our emotions are out of control and our desire to live seems to be fading away. We may have many friends who love us, but even their tears and their embraces bring us little hope.

Psalm 121:1-2 can provide us hope in these times of anguish. “I lift my eyes to the hills – where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.” I realize there is a period of grief we must all go through as we experience our loss, but there also comes a turning point as we start to open our eyes to life once again. The chorus of the song is delivered with such power and with a strong message of encouragement and direction. At some point, we need to realize that we must rise from our knees and take that first step into our changed future. We have to almost tell our lungs to breathe and our hearts to beat again; and we have to look to the light that only God can provide. He is there to give us strength and comfort and to take our hand as we begin our new journey. This strength may be felt through our prayers, our family, and our friends. I know that God listens to our prayers and I also believe that he brings the right people into our lives at the right time. The sooner we put God in control, the sooner we can start our new future. We will always have the past with us as a heartfelt memory, but we must go forward and not let the past dictate our future. The hardest part is taking that first step into your new future and driving your heart to beat again. In the book of Isaiah 41:13, we are told that God will help us when we are ready to move forward, “For I am the LORD your God who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear; I will help you.”

As we start our lives over, it is like a new beginning. We are starting over and starting to find our way out of the darkness. God has been with us every step of the journey through our darkness and loneliness, and he gives us his love as he prepares us for that first step. He is there to lead us, to guide us, and to love us. As we take our first steps into our new future; we start to leave the darkness and feel the bright sunlight shining on our face. It is a time of building a new future and beginning the next chapter in our lives. We have to learn to deal with the conversations around our loss, how we handle dinner invitations when we are now alone for the first time, how we go to events, and how we completely restructure our lives. Perhaps Matthew 6:34 gives us some of the best guidance regarding one day at a time, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It is not only a new beginning for us, but also for those around us. It may be the first time we have paid attention to just how many people care about us and how they have been there supporting us during our deepest darkest hours.

Our heartbreak will never go away, but it doesn’t mean we can’t go on living. Our loss has taught us lessons about cherishing every moment of every day; take nothing for granted. Yes, we will have the scars of our loss forever, but we have also learned to keep walking forward no matter what life throws at us. Every moment of our past means even more and every memory is more precious than we could have ever imagined. We must look to the future and the path that God lays before us. We can have hope once again as God opens the new doors of our future and helps us close the doors of the past. We will never be alone, God tells us this in Matthew 28:20; “and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.”

Maybe, as others hear about the scars on our heart and soul, we may be able to help them find their way and continue their story.

Click to Hear Danny Gokey Sing Tell My Heart to Beat Again

You Raise Me Up

The next song for my Blog was written by Brendan Graham and Rolf Lovland and was first released in 2002. A link to Josh Groban performing the song is at the bottom of this Blog entry.

You Raise Me Up

When I am down, and, oh, my soul, so weary
When troubles come, and my heart burdened me
Then, I am still and wait here in the silence
Until you come and sit awhile with me
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains
You raise me up to walk on stormy seas
I am strong when I am on your shoulders
You raise me up to more than I can be
You raise me up to more than I can be

I don’t normally write about songs that are primarily a repetition of a chorus and have very little verse, but this song is so powerful that I decided to add it to my Blog. As you listen to the song via the link below, listen without distraction to the building power each time the chorus is repeated. I was blown away by the power of the message of the song and the delivery by Josh Groban. The song doesn’t mention God or Jesus, but the words are about things only they could do and have done.

There are many times when we are down and feel as if nothing is going right in our lives. Maybe there are problems at home, at work, with family, with friends, money, and the list seems to go on and on. On some days, it just seems as if we are facing the perfect storm of problems that just seem to drag us down. On these bad days, we feel pain and misery to our very core, to our soul. We have trouble coming out of the pit and struggle to find any joy in our life. Does any of this seem to resonate with you and how your life just seems to sometimes fall apart?

The best thing we can do is try to stop the noise and the outside influences and open ourselves to our Savior. As we start blocking out the world, we start opening our heart and senses to the Holy Spirit, which resides within each of us once we have accepted Christ as our savior. I am not saying it is easy to find this quiet time or quiet space, but we can’t communicate effectively with God unless we allow ourselves to listen to that still small voice. He is always there, so the challenge is with us to open our hearts and minds to his guidance and peace. As we start to feel his presence in our heart and soul, we also start to feel his peace. How long he sits with us is really up to us, maybe it is a minute, a few minutes, or even longer; but it is this peace that helps us to win the battles each and every day. The less we communicate with God, the more difficult and challenging the battles become.

The chorus jumps in with how God can immediately raise us above the battles we face everyday. He can make us feel as if we have been taken to the highest mountain. Stop for a minute and think about being on a tall beautiful mountain. What can you see, what can you hear, who made the mountain anyway? Psalm 121 tells us who made the mountains: I lift up my eyes to the hills– where does my help come from? My help comes from the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth. From my perspective, I see the beauty of the surrounding mountains and valleys, I don’t hear anything except maybe wind and birds, and I only feel peace. God can give us this feeling without leaving wherever we are, we just need to let him. God doesn’t need to actually take us to the top of a physical mountain for us to have the escape, but he showed many times in the bible that he can if necessary. Abraham, Moses, and Elijah were all called to a mountain by God. Jesus called Peter, John, and James to the mountain to witness the transfiguration.

The first line of the chorus tells how God can lead us to inner peace. The second line tells us how God can lead us through the most difficult times. Troubled waters is a good analogy for the bad days in our life. The waters, aka problems, become so scary that we do not want to even risk getting in a boat to get to escape and we certainly don’t want to get out of the boat in the midst of the storm. Jesus tried to show Peter that all it took was faith and trust in him and he could walk on the troubled waters; and Peter did walk until he took his eyes off of the savior. It is in quiet time with God when we get our strength and as soon as we break our quiet time, we are back in the midst of the storm. The longer we have our focus on God, the less time we have to spend navigating the troubled waters.

The third line of the chorus reminds me of the Footprints poem when the person asked Jesus why there was only one set of footprints in the sand when life was the most difficult; and Jesus replied that was when he carried us. This line references how strong we can be when on the shoulders of Christ. Basically we are invincible when we are relying completely on God. Yes, we will have tough days with challenging battles going on in our lives, but nothing can separate us from him, his love, and the peace only he can offer. He has guaranteed us an eternal life of peace and love once we leave this place. On the bad days, a good go-to verse for me is Isaiah 40:31 which says: but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint. So basically he is giving us the strength and courage we need if we just rely on him. Every battle we face has already been won by God.

The last line of the chorus gives us the encouragement we need to take another step and take on another challenge. We can be spiritually lifted up higher than we can ever imagine. We can be stronger than we ever thought possible. We can have a peace that exceeds our highest expectations. God can raise us up to be more than we dreamed we could be and allow us to achieve far greater things than we ever envisioned.

Just stop and think about who you could really be and what you could really do if you allowed God to raise you up.

Click Here to View Josh Groban Perform You Raise Me Up