When I was on staff at Calvary Church in Pueblo, CO, I was sitting alone at the piano in the church worship center early one morning. It was well before office hours so there was no one else in the building making it the perfect place for a quiet time. Weeks before that day I had placed a piece of Plexiglas on the piano to hold chord charts in place when the ceiling fans were running. As I played and worshiped in the stillness of the early morning I suddenly saw quick movement behind me reflected in the glass. Because I thought I was alone it startled me. I jumped and immediately spun around as my heart skipped a beat. What a relief to realize it was only a squirrel on a telephone wire outside the window behind me. I took a deep breath as my heart resumed beating. I felt embarrassed by my reaction even though nobody was there to see it. Then, in that unguarded moment God began to speak to my heart.
The squirrel startled me because I didn’t realize it was there… but God knew it was there. I felt like God was saying “I’m completely aware of every detail of that little creature’s life, the coming and going, searching for food… every single detail. How much more, then, am I aware of the details of your life?” It was like the ‘squirrel version’ of Matthew 10…
“Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:29-31)
Within moments I went from being startled by a squirrel to being deeply moved by God’s overwhelming love. I went back to playing the piano and without even thinking sang the first lines of the song…
I see the sparrow fall from the sky. These little creatures cannot escape my eye.
I continued to play and sing as the song poured out effortlessly. In 30-40 minutes Rest In Me was complete. I decided it was just a simple little song between me and God and that I wouldn’t be sharing it with anyone.
In my next post I’ll explain why I changed my mind.
It happened again. Turbulent storms pushed their way through middle Tennessee with torrential rains, deafening thunder and dramatic lightning.
I love storms but my dog doesn’t. She paces back and forth, hides under tables and my keyboard (think music not computer) and sometimes she even drinks from the toilet if we forget to put the seat down. I know that’s gross but humans have peculiar ways of dealing with stress, too. Last night as our beautiful Lab/Husky paced the floor I tried to calm her. I petted her gently and spoke in a calm, reassuring voice. I told her everything was going to be alright. She didn’t believe me. Actually, she had no idea what I was saying. She was completely focused on the violent thunder and lightning. Her tail, which normally wags with happy-go-lucky delight, was pointed straight down as she paced and panted. I wanted so badly to calm her but I couldn’t get through to her. I knew everything was going to be okay but I had absolutely no way of conveying that truth. It was sad. I was sad.
Then it hit me. Could this be how God feels toward us at times? He’s promised to take care of us and meet our needs. He’s promised to never leave us or forsake us. He’s promised to finish the work he began in us. But we can only hear the thunder and see the lightning. We’re focused on what the checkbook or the evening news or the doctor is telling us, shouting at us. Sometimes, many times, the voices are also internal.
“It’s helpless.”
“It’s hopeless.”
“You’re hopeless.”
But it’s all lies. He’s standing there waiting and wanting to reassure us, calm us, quiet our hearts. He wants to give us a peace that passes all understanding. If only we would turn to him. If only we would ask. If only we would receive. But on we go in our struggle and stress. We pace, we worry, we fret. We listen to the voices, but not his voice. If only we would tune everything out we would hear him. We’d hear that still, small voice whisper three simple words.
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