Commitment

I would like to share some thoughts with you about some truths about commitment I was reminded of this past Sunday by our pastor.

One of the ladies at our church sang a beautiful song on Sunday as a wonderful reminder of God’s commitment to us. You may have heard the song “Blessings” by Laura Story. If you haven’t, here are the words:

We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our suffering
And all the while, You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser things

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt your goodness, we doubt your love
As if every promise from Your word is not enough
And all the while, You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believe

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near
What if trials of this life are Your mercies in disguise

When friends betray us
When darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not,
This is not our home
It's not our home

'Cause what if your blessings come through rain drops
What if Your healing comes through tears
What if a thousand sleepless nights are what it takes to know You're near

What if my greatest disappointments or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst this world can't satisfy
What if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are your mercies in disguise

This song reminds us that God has made a commitment to take care of us. He never promised that our life would be easy or fun, but He did promise that He would be with us. One of my favorite verses that holds this promise is Jeremiah 29:11 “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.” God has our best interest in His mind, even when He sends trials our way. Not all His “blessings” are what we anticipate though. My favorite part of this song and the part that always captures me emotionally is when she writes about the “sleepless nights”. Not just one, but a 1,000 sleepless nights? That’s a lot…but sometimes as a mother I feel that I live like that all the time. But as I sit there pitying myself because I am up all night with a sick baby, I remember my friends who would give anything to have a sick baby that needed them. I think of my friend that just lost an almost full term baby and think “She would give anything to hold that precious baby just once” while I sit here complaining about holding my sweet, sick baby that just wants to be cuddled. At that point, I hold my sweet little girl just a little closer and pray for my dear friends who would love to be in my shoes. He uses those “sleepless nights” to remind us that He is always near. God made the commitment to all of us in His Word that He would always be near us. He is always faithful and keeps His promises. I keep preparing lessons for my Awana kids that all seem to revolve around one theme: God’s faithfulness and commitments to us. I love teaching kids because the truths are presented so simply to them but yet they have profound impacts on our adult lives. As much as the Lord has been bringing the theme of His commitments to my mind, I can only take from that He is gently reminding me of just one of His many promises to me.  Every promise from God’s Word is enough!