Tonight Andrew Peterson and several of his fellow musician friends performed at my church as part of their anual "Behold The Lamb of God" Christmas tour. Before they actually got into the 45 minute long continual Christmas set, they all shared two songs from their normal albums. One artist, Jason Gray, played a song called "Remind Me Who I Am." I have heard it a few times on the radio, but for some reason the truth of it did not sink in until tonight.
This school year has been... tolling. Besides the normal stress that comes with honors and AP classes, I have let myself make decisions that put me directly on the path of destruction. The consequences have been varying, but with the same underlying theme: hurt. Completely disregarding the Bible's wisdom about guarding your heart (Proverbs 4:23), I basically bound myself in rope and sat down on the train tracks. Needless to say, life has been depressing lately. Usually I think of myself as a very strong person, being able to deal with things on my own and overcome the greatest of obstacles. Recently, however, I have realized that I'm not strong at all. I wallow in the hurt, because it is easier to find than the joy. That's not strength.
Getting back to the song, the lyrics that really spoke to me tonight are as following:
When I lose my way and I forget my name (Beloved), remind me who I am.
In the mirror all I see is who I don't want to be, remind me who I am.
In the lonliest places when I can't remember what grace is...
Tell me once again, who I am to you.
Tell me lest I forget, who I am to you.
When Jason started singing that song tonight, I realized that it's okay to be down, and it's okay to have struggles- that's just life. When the insecurity and doubt creeps in, Christ reminds us that we are his BELOVED. There's a method to the madness. Whether it is a lesson learned, or a battle for his glory, the hurt is for a greater good (Romans 8:28). To me, there is joy in that knowledge. And already He's taught me about His sufficiency through all of this. He is everything that humanity cannot be for us. Whatever standards or expectations we have of people that they cannot meet (which is all of them- we're broken people), He will meet 1000 times over again. He is perfection. Praise Adonai.
AMEN!! So proud of you Katie!! And when you are down, I always have popcorn, coffee, a shoulder and an ear. So proud that you have returned to your first and only Love! "For your husband is your Maker, Whose name is the Lord of Hosts" ~Isaiah 54:5 He will always be there for you. I'm so happy to hear that in the words of a song, He spoke to you! He treasured you enough to speak those words of peace to your heart! What a great and amazing God who knows exactly what we need at just the right moment. May He ever receive your praise!
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