A Love Song.

I have a string of thoughts and hopefully they will all come together in the end...

I am a lover of music. A friend asked me over the weekend what I did to calm down- to be still- to gain perspective and be quiet.

My answer was to be alone and listen to music.
I often choose music that is emotional- that evokes thought and feelings that are passionate and sometimes just simply sad.
Is it just messed up that even on a good day I ADORE a good song of heartbreak?

Even over the passed few days I have found myself listening to lots of Phil Collins and Coldplay...
Talk about emotional lyrics...

For example:

"My arms will hold you keep you safe and warm.
This bond between us can't be broken
I will be here, don't you cry"
(You'll Be in My Heart)

"When the truth is, I miss you
Yeah, the truth is that I miss you so
And I'm tired, I should not have let you go..."
(Warning Sign)


How often do I hear these songs and identify them? Try to make them about my life...somehow in some way they apply to me.
Right?

Goodness- I am not sure about you but songs like these tug at my heart strings.
They cause me to yearn for things in this world--- to be loved, missed, treasured and pined for.

I found myself, as I was listening to these songs, asking if I got THIS emotional about God's word.
Did I read scripture and sing songs of worship and have the words bring about such heart tugs, burden and longing for something...


I love this passage in Isaiah...

Chapter 26: 7-9

"The path of the righteous is level;
you make level the way of the righteous.
In the path of your judgements,
O Lord, we wait for you;
your name and remembrance
are the desire of our soul.
My soul yearns for you in the night;
my spirit within me earnestly seeks you."


Talk about emotion. Our soul.

Oh Lord, I YEARN for you. YOU ALONE are my desire. I EARNESTLY seek YOU.

Passion. A true love song.


What does it look like in my life for me to earnestly seek Christ?

Does my soul yearn for God?

I am thankful for this sweet reminder from the Lord that I do not just have to love God and trust Him-
but that I need to YEARN for Him. His word. His very near presence in my life.

To yearn is not just to want. To yearn is to have an intense longing and desire.

A man in the desert YEARNS for water.
A woman without shelter on a cold night YEARNS for a place of rest.
A newborn baby YEARNS for a mothers presence.

We are to YEARN for Christ.
He is worthy of being pined for. In fact- Christ is the only thing worthy of longing, pining and desire.
For He is the only one who can satisfy. sustain. bring joy. give love. provide peace.

I desperately need Jesus.


Mighty God- You are my hiding place. You are my ever present help and closest friend of my heart. You are more than enough for me and all that can sustain. I so often look for satisfaction and affirmation from people. My prayer is that you will instill in me a pining for your spirit and presence. I pray that I earnestly seek you- with each new day. Give me the power to wait on You- For you are my delight. I love you. Amen.

Folded Legs. Thankful Spirit. Sweet Shepherd.

Shepherd.

The Lord is mine.

I have come back to this passage many times over the passed two weeks-

Psalm 23
" The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
forever."

I am so thankful for these words from our God. They are life giving.

If the Lord is the shepherd of my life then I am in turn a SHEEP.

By nature sheep are:
IGNORANT
LOST
UNAWARE OF THEIR NEEDS
CARELESS
WANDERERS

These animals do not know when to eat or sleep.
They do not know which direction to go.
They do not perceive danger and they walk right into traps and toil.

Sheep without a shepherd are lost. in danger. without hope.

I am without Christ lost. in danger. without hope.

How long, O Lord, will I ignore your rod and staff that are meant to comfort me and not just to restrict me?
I so often find the Lord's guidance in my life to be inconvenient, painful and not at all falling into my lines of pleasure.

I heard in a sermon once that sheep are so ignorant and helpless that shepherds literally must FOLD THEIR LEGS for them so that they will rest.

We see an example of this in the Psalm...The Lord MAKES ME LIE DOWN in green pastures...

I feel that this has been true of my life lately.
The Lord has folded my legs.
Made me immobile.
Kept me right where I am.

Why I ask?
Why Lord can you not just tell me what next step to take...?
Why Lord can you not allow me to get up and act...?
Why Lord am I still here right where you left me folded...?

I am learning the value in being still.

I am finding satisfaction in trusting Christ and following in His leading-
whether beside still waters or in the valley of the shadow of death.


Our Good Shepherd has given His life for His Sheep.

This sheep deserves death but has been given life.

That is worth seeing and savoring.

I have lately enjoyed reading through old hymns...I loved this one I found titled "The Good Shepherd"

"My Savior the good Shepherd is,
He'll never leave the flock.
The One Who truly loves the sheep,
Became the Lamb of God.

Despised, afflicted in my stead,
He spent His soul for me.
And to the slaughter He was led,
That I not thirsty be.
My Shepherd is the Lamb of God,
He calls to me each day,
To drink the waters flowing free,
From His pierced side of grace.
Yet when I stray or choose my way,
He still would search for me,
And bring me home on shoulders strong.
Do I not His love see?

My Shepherd's face is how I live,
I love to look at Him.
Though He might lead through shearing trial,
But still I follow Him.
Just as the Father's presence cheered
Him through each suffering day,
'Tis once I saw His tender care
That here I want to stay.

Oh, Father thank You for Your Son,
He shares Your heart for us.
That gladly He would bear us to
The bosom of Your love.
No greater Shepherd could there be,
That He would not lose one!
And lead us all to dwell with You.
Sweet Pasture, Living Stream."


Fellow Sheep- Trust in our Good Shepherd.
He is worthy.