"I will lift my eyes:" Sharing the lyrics and video

This song, "I will lift my eyes," by Bebo Norman is based on Psalm 121, one of my favorite psalms. I found it comforting and wanted to share it with you. Be encouraged. You are His beloved.
EWW

 

 



God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs you now
God be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

Chorus:
I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

Chorus:
I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

Chorus:
I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can't climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

Songwriters: Bebo Norman/Jason Ingram. 
Published by Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Peermusic Publishing

 

 

 

HE said. I say

"God has said, 'Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.' So we may say with confidence, 'The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid..."  - Hebrews 13:5(b)-6.

I read these verses and the question, "Are you singing after God's keynote came to mind?" I knew I had read a version of this question somewhere and finally located it in the June 5 devotional of Oswald Chamber's book, My utmost for His Highest. I found a contemporary translation of it on online* and wanted to share it.  Be encouraged.

EWW

God’s AssuranceJune 5, 2014

He Himself has said . . . . So we may boldly say . . . —Hebrews 13:5-6

My assurance is to be built upon God’s assurance to me. God says, “I will never leave you,” so that then I “may boldly say, ’The Lord is my helper; I will not fear’ ” (Hebrews 13:5-6). In other words, I will not be obsessed with apprehension. This does not mean that I will not be tempted to fear, but I will remember God’s words of assurance. I will be full of courage, like a child who strives to reach the standard his father has set for him. The faith of many people begins to falter when apprehensions enter their thinking, and they forget the meaning of God’s assurance— they forget to take a deep spiritual breath. The only way to remove the fear from our lives is to listen to God’s assurance to us.

What are you fearing? Whatever it may be, you are not a coward about it— you are determined to face it, yet you still have a feeling of fear. When it seems that there is nothing and no one to help you, say to yourself, “But ’The Lord is my helper’ this very moment, even in my present circumstance.” Are you learning to listen to God before you speak, or are you saying things and then trying to make God’s Word fit what you have said? Take hold of the Father’s assurance, and then say with strong courage, “I will not fear.” It does not matter what evil or wrong may be in our way, because “He Himself has said, ’I will never leave you . . . .’ ”

Human frailty is another thing that gets between God’s words of assurance and our own words and thoughts. When we realize how feeble we are in facing difficulties, the difficulties become like giants, we become like grasshoppers, and God seems to be nonexistent. But remember God’s assurance to us— “I will never. . . forsake you.” Have we learned to sing after hearing God’s keynote? Are we continually filled with enough courage to say, “The Lord is my helper,” or are we yielding to fear?

* http://utmost.org/god%E2%80%99s-assurance/

Reflections on Psalm 46:1-2: God is

I was reading the 12/30/13 entry on a blog I follow, http://thesusanblog.com, in which Susan shares what she took away from a sermon by her pastor, Philip De Courcy; the sermon focused  on Psalm 46.

I began reading the psalm, which she had included in its entirety.  I got to the first phrase in verse 2 and was transfixed by the truth and power of what I was reading, and by its implications for my life.

“God is our refuge and strength.” Not was or will be. He is. Right now. Every moment. I do not need to seek refuge and try to muster strength. God is my refuge and God is strength.  Light bulb turning on. A familiar passage of Scripture had now become Rhema to me. Okay.

Next phrase: “A very present help in trouble.” Does not matter if I cannot sense His presence. Does not matter if the voice of my Enemy and his minstrels doubt, insecurity, shame, uncertainty, are whispering in synchrony, “See, God does not love you or He will never let this happen. You deserve the trouble you’re facing. God has left you!” Not true. “God is my refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” For these reasons, “Therefore we will not fear.”

I mentally inserted a period and a Selah  here because I had to pause, reflect on, digest these truths.  “God is.” He exists. He is I AM. God, I AM, the self-existing One, all powerful, Almighty, is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear…” What reason do I have to fear?  The physical earth or my personal world is shaking? The physical mountains or the things or people I believed would always be there have been removed or are violently shaking? Physical waters as in tsunamis or floods or circumstances that feel like tsunamis or rushing floods? Yes. Even in the face of all of this, when I believe and hold on to the truth that, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” I will not fear, “Even thought the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah.” Selah. Indeed.

I recognized that these are not verses to be rushed through but ones that warrant focused meditation, until its truths are absorbed into the fiber of our beings. Living free from fear and anxiety that torment our minds, disrupt our sleep, and adversely impact our health, is possible if I believe Him, when I believe what He said, “I am your refuge and strength. I am a very present help in trouble.” These are the reasons to not be afraid regardless of what is happening in, to and around me. Selah.

P.S. The entire psalm merits reflection. I invite you to read it. Only He knows what 2014 holds for all of us but in Psalm 46, He provides powerful reminders of Who He is and the assurance of His constant presence with us.

P.S.2. I did eventually read Susan’s entire post but it took a while.:-)