Brace yourself: quick jolt from squid to sermon - (welcome, dear reader, to the realm where I live most of life).This weekend at FCC, we will introduce a new song: "Salvation Is Here" (Lincoln Brewster, I believe). Now, beyond the dents in the Mazda's center storage console - and potentially irreparable damage to the alignment (cause: blaring the song on car trips all week and suspecting that Michael Kupka himself would admire my mysteriously highly-developed percussion skills...), I've needed to process through some lyrics in order to help lead it this week.
The specific lyrics I've been chewing on are:
"And I don't care what the world throws at me now - It's gonna be alright...'Cause I know my God saved the day, and I know His Word never fails, and I know my God made a way for me... Salvation is here!"
Obviously, Umbridge (see Post 1 if you're lost here) has voiced strong objection to the line, "It's gonna be alright" because that message flies in the face of everything she's about. But I think there are some valid questions that go beyond her fear-based resistance. For me, those have been:
1. Can I honestly sing, "I don't care what the world throws at me"?
2. What exactly do I mean when I sing, "It's gonna be alright"?
"I DON'T CARE":
At first, this phrase seemed a little naive/callous to me. Many of us are in periods of long waiting and obscurity, or dealing with painful health issues, grieving loss of parent or spouse, tough stuff with kids, hurting marriages, etc. The list goes on. Isn't it a little 'cavalier' to take on such a flippant attitude about life circumstances? Doesn't the key to processing pain with authenticity lie in having courage to let ourselves care (not 'stuff' things), but still trusting at the same time? And most importantly... would God really want us to NOT care about trials we go through?
I still think the answers are: 'Yes, Yes, No.' But maybe the phrase isn't intended so much as, "I don't care at all", but is, instead, just a different way of saying, (like Paul): "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us... [and we're subjected to our present suffering] in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God." (Romans 8:18 & 21). Glorious freedom of the children of God: Salvation. I can sing that. Really loud too.
"IT'S GONNA BE ALRIGHT":
My concern here was that we'd be adopting some kind of shallow Bobby McFerrin 'Don't Worry; Be Happy' kind of philosophy. "Yay - we're Christians - no more problems for us!"... But again, I think this would be twisting the song's intent. When I sing, "It's gonna be alright' this weekend, what I WON'T be singing is: 'Yay God, 'cuz I know without a doubt that you're gonna rescue me out of this excruciating wait for a child in like two days and heal Sheri's dad miraculously (though He could and might) and fix everyone's marriages overnight and bring back those we've lost."
But what I WILL be singing (loudly) is: "... In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:37-39) AND "...we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him..." (Romans 8:28).
That's been your 'deep thoughts' with V for the day - thanks for reading.
P.S. Coffeegirl is in the trenches with this Scripture right now, is battling with courage and hope, and is a shining example of this stuff in action (see her link to the right).
4 comments:
One of the reasons that I think so highly of you V is for your ability to be real, and authentic. I probably won't be singing those lyrics for all the reasons you just mentioned. I will be closing my eyes and praying another prayer of release and asking God for the faith that I need to trust him. And to believe Jer. 29:11, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord plans to prosper you you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." To actually sing the words, "It's gonna be alright" when you feel like your whole world has just shifted in a direction that is painful...feels somewhat hypocritical and trite. The truth...I am going to be alright because Jesus will never leave me. But for the same reason I can't sing, "He gives and takes away....he gives and takes away.." I will be praying instead. And, that's okay. Jesus takes the pain and turns it into praise.
Dear friend - thank you for sharing your heart so authentically. How high are the ways of our Abba...who is simultaneously glorified as one child worships whole-heartedly in belting out a song - while another child worships whole-heartedly in abstaining. He offers both a 'kiss on the forehead', I think, as we draw close to Him and find our comfort and peace... but having done so in different ways. And that is MORE than okay... Higher than ours (His ways), I think. Higher than ours.
V and Coffeegirl, I think highly of both of you for your authenticity and your integrity. Thankful to be part of the church body with you.
V, you've got some good insights on the worship song and the true intended meaning behind the truth we're attempting to proclaim.
Just for the record: God DID "rescue me out of an excruciating wait for a child" EXACTLY two days after this post. Lord, you are SO good... a thousand times thank you.
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