There's no more need to fight. . .
God provides, so why do I worry about my life
When you come to my rescue a thousand times
Every other voice it is a lie
God provides
It is easy to worry about your life. It's what humans are built to do.
We worry about so many things. What people think of us. How we act towards said people. We worry about things that we cannot control, things we cannot hold. We spend far too much time worrying about things that we shouldn't be worrying about. When we think that nothing can come from anything, that's when God provides, above all else. How many times have you been rescued? Did you ask to be rescued? Did you ask to be placed in those situations that required God to step in and save you? Maybe yes. Maybe no. But one thing that I've come to know is that God has never lead me to a place that I couldn't get through, that I couldn't understand why I was lead there, that I didn't realise that I was meant to suffer or know or feel that this is what sacrifice means, this is what life is.
God provides
In ways I can't explain and can't deny
The little that I have He multiplies
Just when I feel He won't show up on time
God provides
What are the countless ways that God has provided for you that you never saw coming?
He sends you things that you need, rather than what you want. Until you have learned the lesson that He intends for you to learn, then those things will pass, those people will leave and those thoughts that once ruled your mind will finally dissipate. I love that word. I have one of the funniest memories of that word, so if you want to hear the story sometime, I'll tell you. But I think I am most grateful when I know that what little I think I have, comes back tenfold, in so many other ways and avenues that I never thought existed. Those moments of panic when you think He won't come through for you, He shows up in exactly the right time, the perfect moment that you could never imagine.
He'll come through
When the clouds of doubt rain down on you
And test everything you thought you knew
Now you finally see what God can do, for you
How do you react when you are being tested?
We are often familiar with tests from our school days. What's the usual reaction? We hate them of course, because we were always pretty half hearted about preparing for them, we didn't take them seriously and we thought so lightly of them because there was always going to be another opportunity to improve a mark if we completely bombed. But life isn't like that. There are continual clouds of doubt and sometimes they come in the form of people, they come in the form of speed bumps or hurdles that you never really pay attention to. But that's one thing that you learn pretty early on, if you're smart - get to know your surroundings and know what is going on.
So tonight
Close your eyes
There's no more need to fight
Watch God provide
It's important to close your eyes.
We think that if we stay awake as long as we can, that we will start to believe everything around us. But we all know that our deepest faith comes from when we can truly believe in sight unseen.
So we don't need open eyes for that. No indeed. Have you lost your faith along the low points of your life? It can be easy to throw away everything you've believed in, if you think that it's the only solution that you have at hand. You may find that you have lost the will to fight, because you see that there is no winner on that particular battlefield. It's coming up to Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Important dates in the Christian calendar that all Christians celebrate, the salvation, the redemption, the immense love that cannot be contained in this earthly realm all encapsulated in a single sacrifice for all.
God provides
It's hard to say when there's no food to eat
Or what you feel that life will be
And this will be another year of misery, for me
But my faith, can't survive on just things I see
And my feelings can't control my destiny
See God I only want what You believe, for me
Who do you look to for provision? What if you can't rely on those whose job it is to provide, to continue to provide? Whose job is it then? If you live in a country where the weakest people should be helped or assisted in some way by equal distribution, that is a truly utopian world, or heaven on earth. No matter how hard we strive for such a place, it does not come about easily, because we are taught to believe in dichotomy, that in order for one to gain, one has to lose. Living should never be about that. How do you feel life should be for you and those you care about? What about for those you don't care about? People are still people. That's the thing about our humanity. Despite what other people do to hurt us, we must still remember that they are just as human as us. So if you don't want your negative feelings to control your destiny, let it go and let God show you what to believe.
God provides (yeah, He will provide)
God provides (before your eyes)
God provides (oh, He will) provides
You don't have to be a perfect Christian. In fact, there's no such thing, no such someone.
We all strive to be good, in terms of allowing our goodness or light to shine in this world. We do this because we are all born with light that people can either nurture so that you shine even brighter than you thought possible, or light that people try to dim or steal for themselves. In any case, we should keep shining regardless right? Maybe what we are provided with isn't what we want, but definitely what we need. We just need to trust and have faith in what may unfold, because that's all we know for sure, is that uncertainty. Can you think back to all the times when you were pleasantly surprised? Seeing spontaneous smiles on people's faces and seeing those smiles reach those eyes when they recognise your light that is bursting out of you - there's nothing like that on earth that comes close. It is that very look that I miss from my late husband's eyes. What am I most thankful for that God has provided for me? Memories of Loma that he helps me to remember that has rescued me a thousand times.
God provides (He will provide)
God provides (before your eyes, He will)
God provides (whatever you need, I know that He will provide)
It is at this point of the song, when you know that the climax is coming, when the background vocals sing everything an octave higher to increase the harmonic intensity. It's just sheer brilliance. You cannot listen to this song and not feel swept away by the elevation that drips from each rising note of the melody. The subtle way that Tamela Mann starts the song lengthens and broadens at this point. What has God provided for me? Let me count the ways. But this blog post will never be enough to contain all of the things that I am thankful to Him for, all the provisions that I never knew He had in mind for me, that only revealed themselves when He has seen fit for me to see. And those moments? Man they're priceless. I had no idea how much I would come to understand the power of gratitude until I thought that I had nothing to be grateful for.
God provides (yes, He'll step right in, in the nick of time, yes He will)
God provides (He'll open the windows of Heaven)
God provides (and pour you out a blessing, you won't have room to receive, yeah)
I hope that whatever you are doing this Easter, eating Easter eggs or hot cross buns, that you remember the reason for the season. If you are not a Christian, that's ok. You can use this season as a time to remember the things in your life that you are thankful for. We can often forget to treasure the small, seemingly insignificant things that we take for granted. These days we can be strongly encouraged by thoughtful words that people send us in private messages, when we least expect. We can be grateful for that particular moment in time that they chose to think of you and send you vibes that wanted to touch you and have you feel their love from afar. For all the things that I can't see right now, can't feel right now, for all the uncertainty that lies ahead of me, there is nothing I need fret about because I know that God provides. . .