Greater (part 1)

hi sweet friends, 


i hope this advent season finds you all well! many of us are finishing up the semester with finals, and papers, and presentations. business and long to-do lists are dragging us down and can easily hinder our relationship with our Maker. even during advent, my heart is weary with all that is going on around me and in my life. but even through the stress and weight, i trust that the Lord is piecing it all together for His good. He's taking this chaos and weaving it into beauty. and for that i am oh so thankful. 


i love music. it has always been a huge part of my life, whether it be playing instruments, singing, or just jamming out in my room. i easily connect to music. in high school, i thrived on worship music, but coming to college i stopped listening. this summer, the Lord absolutely changed my heart and gave me a desire to pursue Him through music once again. lately, two songs have been popping up in my life quite frequently. and by quite frequently, i mean i hear these songs 1-2 times per day on the radio or pandora. both songs were introduced to me this summer and consistently pour truth into my life when i listen to them. i'm going post the lyrics below and break each song down bit by bit and describe what the Lord has taught me in each part. (this will probably be a couple of blog posts) 


the first one is Greater by MercyMe

"Greater"

Bring your tired
Bring your shame
Bring your guilt
Bring your pain
Don’t you know that’s not you’re name
You will always be much more to me

guys, we're all tired. not only our bodies, but our hearts. tired of getting dejected, tired of not understanding, tired of the expectations. but God asks us personally to bring this exhaustion to Him. Matthew 11:28-30 says

“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

i don't know about you, but this is such a reassurance. a steadfast promise from our Father that He will give us rest. that He will allow us, who are dragging behind with exhaustion, to take His yoke upon us. He's more than willing to drag us along and shower us with rest and patient love. 

recently, after thinking back on things of my past, i felt shameful and guilty. i felt unworthy of Christ's love and began to get downhearted. but oh how sweet it is to hear and be reminded that the Lord also asks us to bring our guilt and shame to Him. that he will take our sins and wash them clean. in Isaiah 1:18 we're told graciously of this,

“Though your sins are like scarlet,
    they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
    they shall be like wool." 

(awesome song that puts the verses ^ to music: White As Snow by Rivers&Robots)

i think the most comforting of all, is the line, "bring your pain." sometimes it seems like nobody understands. it seems like you're alone and the weight of the world is crashing down on you. you may feel like you can't escape, as if nobody could ever reach you where you are. there was a time in my life when i was here. but thankfully, with abundant grace and love, the Lord pulled me out. He met me where I was and told me i was loved. that i was worthy and that i had been redeemed. and I praise Him daily for that. I love the Message version of Psalm 34:18 that reads, 
Psalm 34:18 (MSG)
If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.

sometimes we don't feel Him. sometimes we don't hear His voice or notice His signs, but He hears us and He sees us. He hears our faint "yes" to Him and sees us get up each morning and try, try again. as the verse says, "You'll find God right there." right there in the muck, in that sinking hole that seems to grow, the mud that nobody else wants to enter into.. God dives in. The Creator of the Universe graciously gets His hands and feet dirty for us, and joins us in our pain. each and every one of us. He meets us where we are, whether we're being pulled under or just dipping in our toes, He reaches in and holds on tight. and when He sees fit, He will pull us out. but until then, He meets us there and continues to write our story. our beautiful, messy, covered in muck, story that He will turn to good. i don't know about you, but this brings joy to my heart.

in the song, it says "Don't you know that's not your name? You will always be much more to me." guys, can't we just shout a big hallelujah to the King for this?!? we aren't defined by these things! by our guilt, our shame, our pain, or our tiredness. instead, He calls us daughters, sons, beloved, handiwork, and friend. 

2 Corinthians 6:18
"And I will be your Father,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
    says the Lord Almighty"


so, brothers and sisters in Christ, let us rejoice in this season of advent. Our Emmanuel, He is with us. His very name assures us that He is near through it all. how beautiful is that? 

thank you Lord Jesus for being with us always and for giving us new names. thank you for so willingly accepting the broken pieces we offer you, our shame, guilt, exhaustion, and pain. thank you for turning these things beautiful, Jesus. i love you and praise you. 



(rest of lyrics coming soon)


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