I'll Walk With God

I'll walk with God from this day on.
His helping hand I'll lean upon.
This is my prayer, my humble plea,
May the Lord be ever with me.

There is no death, tho' eyes grow dim.
There is no fear when I'm near to Him.
I'll lean on Him forever
And He'll forsake me never.

He will not fail me
As long as my faith is strong,
Whatever road I may walk along.

I'll walk with God, I'll take His hand.
I'll talk with God, He'll understand.
I'll pray to Him, each day to Him
And He'll hear the words that I say.

His hand will guide my throne and rod
And I'll never walk alone
While I walk with God.

Words by Paul Francis Webster
Music by Nicholas Brodszky

This song means a lot to me for many different reasons. My first recollection of this song was as a child when I heard it in a movie called, "The Student Prince". My family watched this movie often, as it was one of my Dad's most favorite videos. Whenever the movie would get to the part where Mario Lanza sings this song, my dad's beautiful tenor voice would join chorus with Mario's - but my dad would never make it through the song without getting choked up. When sneaking a quick glance at my dad, I would see tears streaming down his face and his eyes filled with emotion. From that day on, these words have stirred the depths of my heart.

Each word in the song reminds me of how completely powerful God is, and how much I need Him. So often I wander down my own road, making my own plans, leaning on my own understanding, then things turn sour and I wonder how in the world I got in such a mess. Then the Lord gently reminds me, sometimes through a song like this: was I walking with Him? Was my faith in Him strong? Was I leaning on His helping hand? Often the answer is no. My fickle heart had turned inward again; my mind had become filled with worry over things that I could not control; my prideful spirit had been blinded into believing that only my purposes and my goals were important. Then, Colossians 3 reminded me of what I'm called to; "Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above... not on earthly things." God's plans are so much bigger than mine, and if I am to exemplify Christ in my life then I must also sacrifice my own desires and submit to the perfect will of God. This week I learned a valuable lesson: A heart that is truly yielded to the Lord is a heart filled with peace and contentedness, regardless of the situation.

"'Now then,' said Joshua, 'throw away the foreign gods that are among you and yield your hearts to the LORD, the God of Israel.' And the people said to Joshua, 'We will serve the LORD our God and obey him.' " Joshua 24:23-24

The Weaver

My life is but a weaving
Between my God and me.
I cannot choose the colors
He weaveth steadily.
Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;
And I in foolish pride
Forget He sees the upper
And I the underside.

Not ‘til the loom is silent
And the shuttles cease to fly
Will God unfurl the canvas
And reveal the reason why.
The dark threads are as needful
In the weaver’s skillful hand
As the threads of gold and silver
In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;
Nothing this truth can dim.
He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

~Author Unknown

A Breath of Fresh Air

Have you ever had a time in your life when you read something and it stuck out and seemed to be completely applicable to your present situation? You know, you're reading a passage in the Bible and one of the verses jumps out and grabs you. Well, I was reading in Proverbs yesterday and it happened. But this time it wasn't a single verse, it was the entire chapter! But the amazing thing is, if you know anything about Proverbs, most of the verses are very different and talk about completely different topics. Each one of those 35 verses touched on different issues that I have been dealing with, and not only did they grab my attention, they revealed what was buried deep in my heart and soul. Wow. That's when you realize that God knows just where you are and teaches you exactly what you need to learn. It's so comforting to know that God is in complete control; He knew that I was going to struggle with these issues, and He also planned the exact time that I would sit down and read that particular passage, and He prepared my heart to hear and understand what I was reading.

"For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart."
Hebrews 4:12

Truly, we have a gracious God that would give us such an amazing thing as His very Word. There are so many truths within the pages of Scriptures that answer our every question and fulfill our every longing. We have only to look. Do we? I, for one, am guilty of not traveling to it's bountiful streams to refresh my spirit. How quickly I can forget the joy of seeing my Lord through the words written in the Bible. Yesterday was a breath of fresh air.

To those of you who have been praying for me, thank you. God is answering your prayers and helping me through this time in my life.