Symphony of Praise

Isaiah 35:1-2

Wilderness and desert will sing joyously, the badlands will celebrate and flower—

Like the crocus in spring, bursting into blossom, a symphony of song and color.

Mountain glories of Lebanon—a gift. Awesome Carmel, stunning Sharon—gifts.

God's resplendent glory, fully on display. God awesome, God majestic. (The Message)

Everything that God has created shouts His praises. When I saw the dusting of snow on the mountains Sunday morning, I was in awe of the beauty of His creation. As I’ve been riding to work, I’ve been delighted by the occasional scent of rich jasmine and something else this morning – a tall tree with yellow-orange flowers that had a sweet scent as I passed under it. Claire just received a butterfly hatching kit and our whole family is excited to watch the miraculous transformation of a little caterpillar into a beautifully colored butterfly.

Miraculous.

From the tiniest cell to the largest star, everything was created to work in perfect harmony in this creative, beautiful, awe-inspiring universe.

Aaron G. shared an amazing article this week. It is actually an interactive scale of the universe that explores and explains the smallest feature theorized by scientists – quantum foam – to the largest known object – Sloan Great Wall – which is made up of other galaxies. If you have a minute (or 20), check it out here.  It is truly fascinating.

Psalm 19:1-4

The heavens declare the glory of God; 

the skies proclaim the work of his hands. 

Day after day they pour forth speech; 

night after night they reveal knowledge. 

They have no speech, they use no words; 

no sound is heard from them. 

Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, 

their words to the ends of the world. 

Just like the perfect symphony of God’s created universe, so His people have been created to work together in united harmony to bring glory to Him. Each of us brings our own God-given gifts together to further His kingdom here on earth. He is worthy of our best, and when we let go of ourselves and freely give, side by side with one another, it really is a beautiful symphony of praise.

Colossians 3:12-17 

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. And 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.

Count Your Blessings

Ephesians 1:3 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ. 

Are you a glass half-full or a glass half-empty kind of person? When trials come your way, do you look for the blessing or get lost in feelings of frustration and hopelessness? I often lose my way in worry when faced with trouble, and I am so blessed to be married to a true optimist – always able to help me see God’s positive spin on a difficult situation.

Romans 8:28 

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 

All things. 

Not certain things. Not easy things. All things. 

Today was a hard day for our school staff. Several teachers were called up to the office individually to be told that they were receiving “reduction in force” notices – pink slips. The mood was somber. Some were so emotional that they couldn’t return to their classrooms. It was difficult to see anything positive in such devastating news.

One teacher who received a pink slip was my friend Judy. I shared her story last year when I wrote about the power of prayer. Her baby girl, Aimee, tested positive for cystic fibrosis as a newborn, but tests given later proved negative. The doctors wanted to continue monitoring and testing, and after several months of rollercoaster emotions awaiting test results and fearing that every little cough might be the sign of something more serious, they received very positive news – she continues to show no markers of the disease. 

And then today happened. 

With the district letting go of over 30 permanent teaching positions, she will likely lose her job.

I talked with her about this and asked how she was feeling. She said that it was hard to hear that news. She has faced this for the past few years as a temporary teacher, and always was able to be hired back in the fall; but this time, even though her position is now permanent, with the drastic cuts and increase in class sizes, it seems unlikely that she will return next year. She faces the loss of income and much-needed benefits. She faces an uncertain future in a should-be promising career.

But, as she was driving home today, she looked in the rearview mirror and saw her daughter in the backseat and her thought was “I could stay home with Aimee!”

Where is the blessing in losing a job? For Judy, it might be to gain precious time with the miraculous gift God has given to her.

John 16:33

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.

Trials will come. Troubles will face us. But we can take heart as we serve a God who has overcome the world.

Ezekiel 34:26

I will make them and the places surrounding my hill a blessing. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.

The Love of God

1 John 3:1 

See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!

What words could you use to describe God’s love for us? Awe-inspiring… amazing… breathtaking… wonderful... mind-blowing. Or as the song says, “rich and pure…measureless and strong!”  How about crazy? 

David Powlison, author of the book Seeing with New Eyes writes, 

God’s love is active. He decided to love you when He could have justly condemned you. He’s involved. He’s merciful, not simply tolerant. He hates sin, yet pursues sinners by name. God is so committed to forgiving and changing you that He sent Jesus to die for you. He welcomes the poor in spirit with a shout and a feast. God is vastly patient and relentlessly persevering as He intrudes into your life. God’s love actively does you good. His love is full of blood, sweat, tears, and cries. He suffered for you. He fights for you, defending the afflicted. He fights with you pursuing you in powerful tenderness so that He can change you.


God’s love for us really is a crazy love, and it is so beautifully conveyed in the words of our song this week.

Frederick Lehman, the author of this hymn, found himself mid-way through his life moving from the Midwest to Pasadena, California and working a hard manual labor job to make ends meet. Inspired by words he had heard at a camp meeting years earlier, he found moments of time during breaks from his job to pick up a stub pencil, push a lemon box up against the wall, and pen the first two stanzas and chorus.

The words that had inspired Lehman were the words to the third stanza. Originally longer and part of a Jewish poem written in the year 1096, the paraphrased words, powerfully expressed in the spine-tingling poetry we know today, were found penciled by a patient on the walls of an insane asylum after he was carried to his grave.

Lehman believed that this insane man found moments of brilliant sanity in which he recalled the crazy love of God.

Could we with ink the ocean fill 
And were the skies of parchment made,

Were ev’ry stalk on earth a quill 
And ev’ry man a scribe by trade

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole tho' stretched from sky to sky.

George Sweeting, author and former president of Moody Bible Institute, is quoted as saying,

Down through the years God’s love has shined through misery, tears, and sin like a shaft of sunlight on a dark day. We see God’s love in His revelation, in His mercy, in His patience, and in His redemption. We see the love of God as the infinite One becomes an infant in Bethlehem’s manger. We see it in His life and ministry. And most of all we see it as He hangs on the cross, dying for our sins. 

To the world, it just seems insane. But to the believer, it is LIFE.

1 Corinthians 1:18

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 

Francis Chan, author of the book Crazy Love writes, "God didn't just give a little for us; He gave His best. He gave Himself."

Oh love of God, how rich and pure! 

How measureless and strong!

It shall forevermore endure – the saints’ and angels’ song.