Sing Your Song

Time and time again we are told that we all have a purpose and that there is a plan set in place for all of us. We are all guilty of asking the questions of "why me?" or "what purpose does this have?" During this time of isolation, I have been able to spend more quiet time with God and I have learned so much from Him. A little over a year ago, I started to write a post titled "Passion=purpose." But I never posted it because I didn't feel like I had the right words and I thought that I was just rambling in circles not making sense. So after another trip around the sun, praying, and learning more I think I am finally able to put my thoughts and feelings about this subject into coherent sentences. I strongly believe that you are never passionate about something without reason. I am passionate about helping people and seeing them flourish. I am also passionate about leading the next generation to be on fire and long for the presence of Jesus. Yeah I know some of you are going "you're crazy!" and yeah I know I am. But the way that these kids continuously challenge me and push me to grow in my faith is truly inspiring to me. Every single Wednesday night for the past four years, I have made my way out to the same church to attend the same youth group. I walk in the same two doors and am greeted with the same faces and hugs. The time I was first greeted I knew that this was not the same kind of church or the same kind of people that I have ever known before. These people were my kind of people and I am eternally grateful for all of them. Seeing this church, this youth group, these people, flourish quickly became something that I was passionate about. Over these four years, I have learned so much about myself and Jesus. Recently though my family and I were challenged. The one thing that remained the same throughout this challenge, was the love of God and the "song" that He placed in my heart. This "song" is something that has helped me come to know who I am truly meant to be. This "song" is a song that has stretched me in ways that were so tight and uncomfortable. This "song" has me yearning, hungry, and thirsty to see this world and the community around me filled overflowing with the presence of the Holy Spirit. While my family and I were in the middle of the challenge, I completely stepped back and stopped singing my song. I lost my drive to see this song sung out. I thought "it's ok. Someone else will sing the same song as I do and they will take care of it so I don't have to." As you could have probably guessed, this was not the case and did not happen. You see, I might have lost my drive, but the passion that I had was never lost. It was there the entire time and weighed heavily on my heart with every single breath I took. It became really hard for me to walk into the doors of the church for Sunday service and even more challenging on Wednesday nights for youth. I now can look back and see that this simple thing was so hard because I would always walk in and feel my stomach drop because I knew I was not singing my song anymore. 22 months later, I can tell you that though it is still challenging to sing out my song some days, the days that I do are the days that I have a happy and full heart. The days that I do, are the days that I fall fully in step with God. Before I was even a thought in my parent's minds, God had written this song out specifically for me and He has written out a song that is specific to you as well (see Philippians 2:13 or Romans 8:28). The crazy thing is that we still don't know the entire song! The only person that knows the whole song, from start to finish is the guy that wrote it (aka: God). I find peace knowing that He knows our songs better and more than anyone because He is the one that wrote it. There is not a single word that is not in the wrong spot because He wrote our songs to be the absolute best that they could ever be (see Psalms 139:14). It is not our job to write or try to change the song. We are simply supposed to trust Him and allow Him to lead us where we are supposed to go. It is our job to fully embrace the process and go into every situation confidently knowing that He is the one in control and that He is going to take us where we need to be. The few things that we do get to be in charge of, are which voices we allow to be the loudest, who we allow to lead us, and what victory means to us. Don't get me wrong! We all love to wander from time to time. But wouldn't it be awesome if our wandering lead us closer to Him? Something to remember when we find ourselves wandering away from Him is that, just like the prodigal son (see Luke 15:11-32), we will be welcomed home with open arms no matter what. If we simply believe that He forgives us, receive that forgiveness fully, and choose to make a fresh start with Him and live by His Word there will be a celebration thrown in our honor when we return. (Side note: Randomly I will be reminded that God extends His word and His love to us! (see 1 John 4:16) Isn't it breathtaking that the One that created every single living and nonliving thing on this planet would do that for you and I, every single day?! ) As we allow ourselves to do these things the songs that within us begin to sing out louder and more begin to hear them. It is through our songs that others can see Him. Question: Today I want to ask you a question, are you singing your song? Before you answer, I want you to realize that your song does not have to be done on a stage or with a microphone. Your song has power even if you are not on stage! Secondly, I want to ask you how loud are you singing? Are you whispering? If so why aren't you singling louder? I think we can all learn from the trusted Buddy the Elf when he says "The best way to spread Christmas cheer is singing loud for all to hear." I think that the best way to spread the presence of Jesus and the power of the Holy Spirit is to sing loud for all to hear. There is an actual song that says "day and night, night and day let incense arise" and I can't help but think about how much different this world would be if we all sang our songs night and day, day and night. Challenge: I challenge you to sing your song. That is it. Sing your song and sing it with confidence knowing that your Heavenly Father is the composer. Prayer: Lord, I just pray today that each person would let go of the unhealthy things that they are clinging to. I ask that you speak to all of us today about what our songs are and about who we are to you. I thank you that you are guiding us every single step of the way. I am grateful today that you know our songs better than anyone else could ever know it. Today we can all breathe easy because you are the one that has created us and placed our songs inside of us. Would you help us discern your voice from the world's voice please Lord. You are a good good Father and we thank you for everything you have done for us and everything you will do for us. We love you. Amen