Sovereign

Sovereign in the mountain air  

Sovereign on the ocean floor  

With me in the calm  

With me in the storm  

Sovereign in my greatest joy  

Sovereign in my deepest cry  

With me in the dark  

With me at the dawn  

  

In your everlasting arms  

All the pieces of my life  

From beginning to the end  

I can trust you  

In your never failing love  

You work everything for good  

God whatever comes my way  

I will trust you

                                   - Chris Tomlin

The Anchor Still Holds

Only when the storm rages

    do we realize the strength

        of the anchor. 

When darkness veils His lovely face,  

I rest on His unchanging grace;  

in every high and stormy gale,  

my anchor holds within the veil. 

On Christ, the solid rock, I stand;  

all other ground is sinking sand,  

all other ground is sinking sand.

                             - Edward Mote

You are there, in every season of my soul

You are there, You’re the anchor that will hold

You are there, in the valley of the shadow

You are faithful, God

                             - Chris Tomlin

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, 

    firm and secure. 

It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain,   

    where Jesus, who went before us, 

        has entered on our behalf. 

                             - Hebrews 6:19-20

Let us run with perseverance 

    the race marked out for us. 

Let us Fix Our Eyes On Jesus,

    the author and perfecter of our faith

                             - Hebrews 12:2

All My Days

All the days 

    ordained for me 

  were written in Your book 

    before one of them came to be.

                                   - Psalm 139:16

Memorial of God’s Faithfulness

When you see the ark of the covenant

of the Lord your God, and the priests, 

  who are Levites, carrying it, 

    you are to move out from 

      your positions and follow it. 

Then you will know 

  which way to go, 

    since you have never 

      been this way before.

Now the Jordan is at flood stage 

  all during the harvest. 

Yet as soon as the priests 

  who carried the ark 

    reached the Jordan 

and their feet touch the water’s edge, 

  the water from upstream 

    stopped flowing.

“Go over before the ark 

  of the Lord your God 

    into the middle of the Jordan. 

Each of you is a take up a stone 

  on his shoulder, 

according to the number 

  of the tribes of the Israelites, 

    to serve as a sign among you.”

Joshua set up the twelve stones 

  that had been in the middle 

    of the Jordan 

at the spot where the priests 

  who carried the ark of the covenant 

    had stood.

                    - Joshua 3:2-4,15, 4:5-6

The Lord Is My Rock

I love you, O Lord, my strength. 

The Lord is my rock, 

       my fortress and my deliverer; 

    my God is my rock, 

        in whom I take refuge. 

He is my shield and 

  the horn of my salvation, 

    my stronghold. 

I call to the Lord, 

      who is worthy of praise, 

    and I am saved from my enemies.

For who is God besides the Lord?

And who is the Rock 

  except our God?

It is God who arms me with strength 

  and keeps my way secure.

The Lord lives!

Praise be to my Rock!

Exalted be God my Savior!

                          - Psalm 18:1-3, 31-32, 46

Let It Go!

The situation themselves 

  were His will for me. 

What God wanted was 

  for me to accept the situations 

    from His hand, 

to let go of the reins

  and place myself entirely 

    at His disposal.

                                     - Walter Chizik

And that is exactly what 

  you and I have to do, 

    probably daily. 

Let go of the reins. 

Let go of what you can’t 

  control anyway.

We live in a fallen world, 

  and it is in this fallen world, 

with all of its necessities and sorrows 

  and adversities, 

that God ordained 

  that we should get to know Him. 

It is through the difficulties.

 Suffering – 

Having what you don’t want, 

or wanting what you don’t have.

It is in the suffering that the Lord

  wants to reveal Himself to me. 

We are required to suffer. 

Unto you, it is given to suffer.

Will you trust Him? 

Will you give up your right 

  to yourself and take up the cross 

    and follow Him?  

It is the road to joy. 

It is the road to fulfillment.

May God give us the grace 

  to trust Him and obey.

                                      – Elisabeth Elliot

The Commandments of God

The commands of God

    are the enablements of God

God will carry us through 

    one day at a time

Do the next thing 

Focus and Faith

Therefore we do not lose heart. 

Though outwardly we are 

    wasting away, 

  yet inwardly we are being renewed 

    day by day. 

For our light and momentary troubles 

  are achieving for us 

    an eternal glory 

      that far outweighs them all. 

So we fix our eyes not on 

  what is seen, 

    but on what is unseen, 

since what is seen is temporary, 

  but what is unseen is eternal. 

 

                          - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Let us run with perseverance 

  the race marked out for us, 

fixing our eyes on Jesus, 

  the pioneer and perfecter of faith. 

                         - Hebrews 12:2 

"Come to me, 

  all you who are weary and burdened,

    and I will give you rest.

Take my yolk upon you 

  and learn from me,

for I am gentle and humble in heart,

  and you will find rest for your souls.

For my yolk is easy and my

  burden is light."

                         - Matthew 11:28-30

Whatever you do, 

  whether in word or deed, 

    do it all in the Name 

      of the Lord Jesus, 

  giving thanks to God the Father 

    through Him.

Whatever you do, 

  work at it with all your heart, 

    as working for the Lord, 

      not for human masters, 

  since you know that you will 

    receive an inheritance 

      from the Lord as a reward. 

It is the Lord Christ 

  you are serving. 

                         - Colossians 3:17, 23-24

Blessed Be Your Name

Blessed Be Your Name  

In the land that is plentiful  

Where Your streams of abundance flow  

Blessed be Your Name

Blessed Be Your Name  

When I'm found in the desert place  

Though I walk through 

    the wilderness  

Blessed Be Your Name

Every blessing You pour out, I'll  

Turn back to praise  

When the darkness closes in, Lord  

Still I will say  

Blessed be the Name of the Lord  

Blessed be Your Name  

Blessed be the Name of the Lord  

Blessed be Your glorious Name

Blessed be Your Name  

When the sun's shining down on me  

When the world's all as it should be

Blessed be Your Name

Blessed be Your Name  

On the road marked with suffering  

Though there's pain in the offering  

Blessed be Your Name

Every blessing You pour out I'll  

Turn back to praise  

When the darkness closes in, Lord

Still I will say  

Blessed be the Name of the Lord  

Blessed be Your Name  

Blessed be the Name of the Lord  

Blessed be Your glorious Name

You give and take away  

You give and take away  

My heart will choose to say  

Lord blessed be Your Name

You give and take away  

You give and take away  

My heart will choose to say  

Lord blessed be Your Name

              - Matt Redman / Beth Redman

Trust, Be Strong and Take Heart

Wait for the Lord;

    be strong and take heart

    and wait for the Lord.

                                - Psalm 27:14

    

But I trust in You, O Lord;

    I say, “You are my God.”

My times are in your hands

Be strong and take heart,

    all you who hope in the Lord.

                                  - Psalm 31:14-15,2

I have told you these things, 

  so that in me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. 

  But take heart! I have overcome 

      the world.

                                   - John 16:33

The Call Still Comes

The call still comes to us:

 

  Take up your cross

      and come with Me.

With You, Lord?

Yes, with Me.

Will You give me strength

  and show me the way?

That was My promise -

  is it My custom

     to break promises?

                               - Elisabeth Elliot

The Everlasting Arms

The eternal God is your refuge,
    and underneath are the everlasting arms.   

                        ~ Deuteronomy 33:27

I lift no burden, bear no pain, alone;

My soul a calm, sure hiding place
      has found:

The everlasting arms my life surround.

                          - Robert Browning

God Will Take Care Of You

Do not look forward to the changes and chances of this life in fear; rather look to them with full hope that, as they arise, God, whose you are, will deliver you out of them. 

He has kept you hitherto,—do you but hold fast to His dear hand, and He will lead you safely through all things; and, when you cannot stand, He will bear you in His arms. 

Do not look forward to what may happen tomorrow; the same everlasting Father who cares for you today, will take care of you tomorrow, and every day. 

Either he will shield you from suffering, or He will give you unfailing strength to bear it. 

Be at peace then, and put aside all anxious thoughts and imaginations. 

                           - St. Francis De Sales

Beware the Crosses of Anxious Foreboding

Fenelon 1651-1715

The crosses of the present moment always bring their own special grace and consequent comfort with them; we see the hand of God in them when it is laid upon us. 

But the crosses of anxious foreboding are seen out of the dispensation of God. We see them without the grace to bear them; we see them indeed through a faithless spirit which banishes grace. So, everything in them is bitter and unendurable; all seems dark and helpless. 

Let us throw self aside. Tolerate no more self-interest, and then God's will, unfolding in every moment in everything, will console us also every moment for all that He shall do around us, or within us, for our discipline.

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The crosses which we make for ourselves by a restless anxiety as to the future, are not crosses which come from God. We show want of faith in Him by our false wisdom, wishing to forestall His arrangements, and struggling to supplement His Providence by our own providence. The future is not yet ours; perhaps it never will be. If it comes, it may come wholly different from what we have foreseen. Let us shut our eyes, then, to that which God hides from us, and keeps in reserve in the treasures of His deep counsels. Let us worship without seeing; let us be silent; let us abide in peace.

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Let us then think only of the present, and not even permit our minds to wander with curiosity into the future. This future is not yet ours; perhaps it will never be. It is exposing ourselves to temptation to wish to anticipate God, and to prepare ourselves for things which He may not destine for us. If such things should come to pass, He will give us light and strength according to the need. Why should we desire to meet difficulties prematurely, when we have neither strength or light as yet provided for them? Let us give heed to the present, whose duties are pressing. It is fidelity to the present which prepares us for fidelity in the future.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Henrietta Louisa Sidney Lear

A constant anticipation of evil which perhaps never will come, a foreboding which takes away life and energy from the present, will simply hinder and cloud the soul, and make it timid and sad. If troublous thoughts as to the future will press, darkening a bright present, or hurrying on coming clouds, the safest thing is to offer them continually as they arise to God, offering too the future which they contemplate, and asking for grace to concentrate our energies on the immediate duties surrounding us. Many have dreaded troubles which they thought must come; and while they went on ever expecting to make the turn in their path which was to open out fully to the evil, lo!, they found that they had reached the journey's end and were at the haven where they would be.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Elisabeth Elliot

To take on the burdens of tomorrow

    is to sap the strength needed 

to carry out the work assigned for

    today.

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It is not for the flock of sheep to know 

    the pasture the Shepherd

        has in mind. 

It is for them to simply follow Him.

The Burden of Tomorrow

Oh, ask not thou, How shall I bear

The burden of to-morrow?

Sufficient for to-day, its care,

Its evil and its sorrow;

God imparteth by the way

Strength sufficient for the day.

                                 - J. E. Saxby

No person ever sank 

  under the burden of the day. 

It is when tomorrow’s burden 

  is added to the burden of today

    that the weight is more 

       than a person can bear. 

Never load yourselves so, my friends. 

  if you find yourselves so loaded,

    at least remember this: 

      it is your own doing, not God’s. 

He begs you to leave 

    the future to Him,

       and mind the present. 

                                  - George MacDonald

Many things about tomorrow,

I don't seem to understand;

But I know Who hold tomorrow,

And I know Who holds my hand.

                             - Ira Forest Stanphill

To take on the burdens of tomorrow 

    is to sap the strength needed 

to carry out the work 

    assigned for today.

                              - Elisabeth Elliot 

Today is mine.

Tomorrow is none of my business.

If I peer anxiously into the fog of the future,

  I will strain my spiritual eyes

    so I will not see clearly

      what is required of me now.

                                 – Elisabeth Elliot

We may bring any difficult situation

  to our Heavenly Father,

laying it before His eyes,

  and asking not for instant escape

but for strength to sustain 

  the burden and to do 

    what we ought to do.

                                - Elisabeth Elliot

It is not for the flock of sheep to know 

   the pasture the Shepherd 

       has in mind.  

It is for them to simply 

    follow Him.

                                  - Elisabeth Elliot 

Lessons in the School of Faith

In the school of faith,

  I am required to do

    I am enabled to do. 

Provision has been made.

I am not alone 

  and there is nothing 

      to fear.

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God sometimes asks of us 

  things that look 

        impossible, 

    but they never turn 

        out to be –

because God’s command 

  is always His enabling.

It is always possible 

  to do the will of God.

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I don’t have to know 

  how God is going to 

      do something.

I have to know only 

      the one step 

  that He is asking 

      me to take.

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The deepest lessons 

  come out of the 

        deepest waters 

    and the hottest fires.

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Through my deepest 

      waters, 

  hottest fires and 

      darkest valleys

God has taught me the

      deepest 

  and most eternal lessons.

                              – Elisabeth Elliot

How Firm A Foundation

He will be the sure foundation 

    for your times

                                                 - Isaiah 33:6

How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord,

Is laid for your faith in His excellent Word!

What more can He say than to you He hath said,

To you, who to Jesus for refuge have fled?

Fear not, I am with thee, O be not dismayed,

For I am thy God and will still give thee aid;

I'll strengthen and help thee, and cause thee to stand

Upheld by My righteous, omnipotent hand.

When through the deep waters I call thee to go,

The rivers of sorrow shall not overflow;

For I will be with thee, thy troubles to bless,

And sanctify to thee thy deepest distress.

When through fiery trials thy pathways shall lie,

My grace, all sufficient, shall be thy supply;

The flame shall not hurt thee; I only design

Thy dross to consume, and thy gold to refine.

The soul that on Jesus has leaned for repose,

I will not, I will not desert to its foes;

That soul, though all hell should endeavor to shake,

I'll never, no never, no never forsake.

                                           - John Rippon

Let Him Do The Rest

God never called us 

  to be perfect -- 

    He calls us to be faithful. 

He asks us to trust Him 

  with our weaknesses, 

    to bring Him our best effort, 

      and let Him do the rest.

                               - Dawn Camp

Jesus, Savior, Pilot Me

Jesus, Savior, pilot me

Over life's tempestuous sea;

Unknown waves before me roll,

Hiding rock and treach'rous shoal.

Chart and compass come from Thee.

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

As a mother stills her child,

Thou canst hush the ocean wild;

Boist'rous waves obey Thy will

When Thou sayest to them, "Be still!"

Wondrous Sovereign of the sea,

Jesus, Savior, pilot me.

When at last I near the shore,

And the fearful breakers roar

'Twixt me and the peaceful rest,

Then, while leaning on Thy breast,

May I hear Thee say to me,

"Fear not, I will pilot thee."

                                       - Edward Hopper