My faith looks up to Thee,
Thou Lamb of Calvary, Savior divine!
Now hear me while I pray, take all my guilt away,
O let me from this day be wholly Thine!
When I get discouraged, when I start feeling blue, I start singing this beautiful old hymn – because I know I'm only going to be saved up out of depression by His wonderful words of life. I don’t know if you’re like me, but I know that when I feel afraid or fearful of the future, when problems seem to overwhelm, I often imagine the worse case scenario. I’ve got to fight not to think that way. I’ve got to jerk my thoughts upright and remember that my loving Father holds me in His hands – I’ve got to choose to trust that God is bigger, smarter, more compassionate, and more loving than I could possibly imagine. I’ve also got to resist the temptation to make an idol of the problem – it’s so easy to get so focused on my problem that I talk about it endlessly instead of praying about it and focusing on God's ability to handle it.
And the best way to focus on God's faithfulness is to recite – and recite again – His wonderful words of life: His promises. The Lord your God is with you… He is mighty to save it says in Zephaniah. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord it says in Psalm 121.God is always with me and He holds me by His right hand, I'm assured in Psalm 73. The Lord is with me and I will not be afraid, it tells me again in Psalm 118.The Lord Himself goes before you and He will never leave you nor forsake you, so do not be discouraged, Deuteronomy 31 assures me. It’s promises like these I recite time and again when I'm feeling fearful or when problems overwhelm me. In fact, I’ve got a whole booklet of scores of Bible promises that I always turn to and I’d love to send it to you today. So just remember. God is bigger, smarter, and a lot more loving than you can possibly imagine… and if you need to be convinced, just turn to His promises today.
Used by permission of
JONI AND FRIENDS
P.O. Box 3333
Agoura Hills, CA 93176
© Joni and Friends