This morning I woke up two minutes before my alarm, and unlike most mornings I am feeling incredibly awake. I'm not really sure why this is, unless it has something to do with the strange dream I had last night in which I was a pro soccer player competing in the Women's World Cup (sidenote: don't drink chocolate milk before bed).
It was a fantastic dream, and when I woke up I was smiling from it.
Suddenly though another moment happened, one that each of us knows all too well, when slowly but surely we become more aware of our surroundings, glancing at the alarm on our phones and realizing that today is another day.
You have two pathways before you, two mentalities.
Ugh, I have to get out of this bed and go to class, take that quiz, face that coworker, fill-in-the-blank.
or
It's time to sing His song.
It's taken me awhile to realize it, but last night God brought me to a place of realizing that He's been teaching me something over the past few months: the lesson of in every season, which I know many of us have heard time and time again, but a simple fact is this: truth cannot be exhausted, so if you've heard it before, soak it in again and perhaps take it to heart a different way or perhaps just again:
In every season, You are still God.
This statement has gargantuan implications, because if God is Himself, if He is faithful, loving, righteous, true and much else in every season, then we have millions, billions, trillions of reasons to sing, to rejoice, to live out His love every single day.
If He is God constantly, without fail, then it does not matter what season we are in, His love remains. He is always for us, forever on our side, never withdrawing His offer of grace, His lifestyle of love.
Each day, we can call upon His name.
Each moment, we can say, 'Spirit of Jesus within me, be powerful. Be bold. Be self-disiciplined. Be love!'
In every season, we can say 'Father, today is hard, and I need you'.
With each trial we can say, 'Jesus, bring your kingdom today'.
We can ask God to give us the mindset of joy, which isn't a feeling but rather is a mentality, a choice, to keep on hoping in the midst of chaos.
To see the wisdom that can come from trials. To persevere in every tribulation. To realize that every broken part of this world only reminds us of our true, eternal, heavenly homes, because this world is not where we belong.
Not only can we ask but we know that He will give, because God gives wisdom generously to those who ask, and He does not withhold any good thing from us.
We have reason to rejoice, reason to sing His song, every single day. We have endless reasons.
With this mentality we are reminded of one truth that too often we forget, that our strength lies in His name alone, not in ourselves, not in any other sinking sand foundation, but only in His name alone is our hope found, because His name alone can save, can bring power, can shed light into dark places.
On my heart and mind this morning for whoever needs to hear it is this: He has been faithful in the past, so why would He stop being faithful now?
The lyrics of Hillsong's 'Oceans' come to mind (I'm quite the Hillsong fanatic, which if you follow this blog then you are well aware):
'You've never failed, and You won't start now
So I will call upon Your name
And keep my eyes above the waves
When oceans rise, my soul will rest in Your embrace
For I am Yours
And You are mine'
So, when we rise, will we sing His song, or will we live by the flesh, moaning and groaning out the sounds of hell?
(Not 'Oceans' but still one of my favorites)
