notes to self | #heishere

"...in the chaos, in confusion, I know You're sovereign, still..."

#heishere

(lyrics from None but Jesus, by Hillsong United)

Personal: Trusting God

Life is fairly testing at the moment...awesome but testing. I'm finishing my current job at the end of July with the plan to start studying mid-August. It's a huge step for several reasons because:

1. I have quit my job not yet knowing if I have been accepted onto the course I plan to do.
2. I am supposed to hear back about the course this week but haven't heard anything.
3. Living arrangements whilst I study are foggy to say the least.

All that being what it is, I know that I know that I know that God has a plan for my life and I am in it right at this moment. I know He has everything figured out and it will all work out for my good because that is what He promises.

Now...as I'm sure many of you know, trusting God when you can't see how things are going to come together can be rather difficult. We are so used to relying on what we see or what we know that we find it difficult to envision things coming together, but thank God, He both sees and knows more than we do.

This morning as doubts crept in I encouraged myself in God and asked Him to strengthen my faith. Immediately after praying the song Oceans (below) dropped into my heart and I just started singing it. It reminded me that despite the darkness of the great unknown and all that it holds that I cannot see, I can still see Jesus, and He knows and sees everything.

Praise

"Sometimes your praise can be a problem for your problem." - Carl Lentz

Isaiah 61:3 NKJV
"...The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness..."

For the Gospel of the Cross is of mercy, grace and forgiveness

"Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots."

- Luke 23.34

It amazes me to know that even as Jesus died, nailed to the cross and soldiers dividing up His clothes between them, mocking Him, He pleaded with His heavenly father to forgive them in their ignorance.

Would you? Think about it; if someone had taken away your clothes, whipped you and made fun of you, would you want to plead on their behalf? Would they even deserve to have you plead on their behalf?

The most obvious and natural response is no.

And yet, this is what Jesus did for us. He died once and for all [Hebrews 9.28, Romans 6.10] for the people that daily mock Him, ignore Him, call Him a fraud, torture Him.

While we were still sinners Christ died for us [Romans 5.8], so that in divine sacrifice, He would take our sin on His shoulders and the suffering that came with it [John 1.29], so that in exchange we could inherit the kingdom of God; mercy, grace and forgiveness, once and for all [Hebrews 4.16, Hebrews 10.10, Proverbs 8.35].

I've played the song below on the blog before, but really feel it laid on my heart again. The lyrics are beautiful and I have posted them below the video:

To bring this world to life

To heal this heart of mine

Your grace enough

Your grace enough

To mend this world in need

To break the chains in me

Your grace enough

Now this means love

The weight of all our sin upon His shoulders

That we should all be called Your sons and daughters

Father,

Let heaven and earth collide in the endless wonder

Of Your love upon the cross

We will follow

And offer this life forever to see Your love unfold

Adopted as Your own

Alive to make You known

Now this means love

This means love

For the lost and for the broken

For the slave and for the orphan

For everyone to realize Your love

From the famous to the faceless

From the beggar to the king

For everyone to realize Your love

You restore the broken hearted

You bring freedom to the captive

For one and all

Forever this means love

All Your children come together

All Your sons and all Your daughters

Your grace enough

Forever this means love

You Are My Strength - Hillsong United, Saviour King

[Philippians 4.13]

To Know Your Name - Hillsong United, Saviour King

"I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life." - John 8.12

For those of you reading who don't know me too well, I'm hoping to move to Stockholm next year after graduating. I've loved the place for some time and am teaching myself how to speak the language (slowly but surely). Somebody I spoke to today mentioned that Sweden has a very high suicide rate because of the darkness, and is slightly communist, and I don't know if it was an attempt to discourage me from going or just an offhand comment, but I immediately felt God's reassurance and the gentle reminder of the Holy Spirit that light casts out darkness.

The number one reason I plan to move to Stockholm is because I feel it's God's plan for me, and the second is that I know that it is a place where a lot of people still need to know who Jesus is.

Getting home this evening, I opened my bible and ended up at this verse:

"...God is light, in Him there is no darkness at all."

-1 John 1.5

There's reassurance if I needed any!

The Stand - Hillsong United, United We Stand

Father - Hillsong United, Aftermath