Psalm 100 - a song of praise!

Shout for joy to the LORD, all the earth. Worship the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. Psalm 100:1-5

A year ago this week, I received two very important pieces of communication. The first was a letter. The second, a phone call. The letter was from my doctor’s office notifying me that there had been an “abnormal” result in my mammogram. As that news was still sinking in, I received a phone call from KLOVE telling me I had won tickets to see Chris Tomlin in concert in Denver. Talk about having highs and lows in a short span of time.

The next week was a blur of scheduling. I needed a biopsy. I was also at the front end of a massive project at work that was requiring enormous concentration and a lot of travel. Throwing the possibility of breast cancer threatened to send me over the edge. My faith was being tested in a big way.

As the night of the concert approached, I was very focused on the evening as a way to introduce my son to music and music-making. He’s definitely gifted, and I was thinking that God was using this as a way to open a door for him. Oh how little I really know! God had a big plan for me and I was hopelessly clueless.

In the past several years, I had become a pretty big fan of Chris’. His music is regularly part of the worship experience at our church. No matter how many times I hear “How Great is Our God,” I cry. The overwhelming power of those words just turns on the faucet in me. So, getting to see the show was an incredible gift.

From the first note I thought, wow, this is different than any other concert I’ve ever been to. God showed up that night. Worship was bigger and more powerful than anything I had ever experienced and it was simply amazing. At one point Israel Houghton, who opened for Chris, talked about everyone there having something on their hearts. He said whatever it is, God wanted to take it from you if you’d just let him. Boy, did the tears start flowing. At that moment I said “God, I don’t know what lies ahead with the bisopsy. I know that whatever happens, you’ll be there with me and will use the situation for your glory. I’m trusting you with it.” I cannot describe the sense of peace that came over me. From that moment on, I knew that whatever happened with it, it was going to be okay because God and I were in it together. What an unbelievable thought.

The night just went up from there. Hands raised in praise, singing as loud as we could sing, giving our all to God. I think I learned what it means to truly worship. He was clearly in the room with us that night. As we left that night, I was thinking wow, God I don’t know what you have next for us, but this was pretty amazing and I’m in for the duration!

We had received Chris’ cd “Hello Love” as part of the package we won. I loaded it onto my iPod and had “I Will Rise” cued up during my biopsy. I didn’t even feel like I was in that room – I was back at the show, praising and focused on God.

I’m grateful that there was no cancer. But my promise to God is the same. I’m using that gift, the concert and the cancer scare rolled up into one – to give Him the glory and help tell his story in whatever fashion He wants me to. I can tell you that the past year has been a tidal wave of experiences and emotions that still leave me in awe. God has moved mountains, broken down barriers and brought people into my life who are an incredible blessing. I cannot wait to see where the road leads next.

“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain...

...for the old order of things has passed away." Revelation 21:4.

The unthinkable happened. It happens more often than we would like. In recent weeks, we’ve seen then unthinkable happen too, too often. The latest was an unimaginable accident that took the life of a small child in our church family. This one hit very hard and threatened to strike right into the core of my foundation. “Why, God?” What reason could there possibly be?

Last night, I wrestled with talking about this incident with my own children, knowing that they will likely be faced with the topic this weekend in services. As my daughter and I drove home, there was a discussion on the radio about profound loss, how we don’t have the answers and how those are the times when our faith has to stand strong because the enemy will use those times to try and chip away at us. It brought tears to my eyes. My daughter was listening, but probably didn’t completely understand, so she asked why I was crying. So, I told her about the family in our church and the grief they are faced with. In her amazingly beautiful “childlike faith” way she said, “well, Mommy, God must have a big job for him and needed him in Heaven now.” What perfect, faith-filled words! Yes, it is terribly sad, but we know in our heart of hearts that this world is not the end and whatever we are seeing now is not all there is to see.

Later, I was working through my reading plan which, of course, happened to be talking about suffering and grief. No matter how many times I encounter God’s timing and the right words at the right time, I will still marvel at it. With my daughter’s words still fresh in mind, I read passages from Isaiah, John, Romans, 2 Corinthians and then Revelation. These particular words brought immediate comfort and a sense of hope. Hope to find something to cling to in the midst of the most unspeakable tragedies. God is with us in those darkest moments and is holding us in His gentle care. But, even more comforting is knowing that as we walk in His truth, we are assured that there will be a day when our pain and suffering will end as we spend it forever worshipping the One who conquered all suffering, sin and death.

As I finished, the words to several songs began swimming around in my head, bringing even more peace. Music brings me so much joy and to sing songs based on Scripture, which is God’s truth, help to comfort in times when comfort seems unlikely. The words to “In My Arms” by Plumb just started “playing” in my mind. As I reached over and flipped on the radio, guess what was playing?

“clouds will rage and

storms will race in
but you will be safe
in my arms

rains will pour down
waves will crash around

but you will be safe

in my arms”

Thank you, Jesus.