Moments of Stillness

The power outage last week triggered something I wasn't anticipating. Our lives and daily schedules as we know them came to an abrupt halt, and my husband and I found ourselves sitting together in our dark townhome wondering what to do with our time. From Wednesday morning forward, two things occurred; my husband and I spent sweet, valuable time together, and we both experienced much needed rest and even silence. The break in routine gave us both extensive time to stop and reflect on a variety of things. For him, it was sweet time spent with the Lord, seeking Him on how he can minister to others during this season of our lives. We have been blessed with my job allowing my husband the time to focus on school and ministry through the church, so this was a good week of prayer and reflection for him. For me, it was simply stopping. Removed from work for a day, television and internet, I found myself wondering what to do with the quiet. In those quiet moments and days, the best way to describe the time is to simply echo the psalmist's plea, "Restore to me the joy of Your salvation..." The Lord showed me that I needed that silence more than I realized in order to be alone with Him. I realized how easy it became to rely on the safety net of seminary, how little I was spending time in personal study and prayer, and how I am always in need and dependent upon Him. So not only has it been good for me to only work during this season, rather than working and attending classes, but I apparently needed my entire routine to pause if even for a few days. And because of that, I have writer's overload rather than writer's block, which I have learned is another reason to go for an extensive period of time without writing anything. There are so many things that have been on my mind that I haven't really known where to begin.
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As a sweet addition to this respite, my husband mentioned to me on Thursday that there was a worship concert on campus scheduled for that evening. When I told him I was up for going if he was, on the inside I was thrilled and very much looking forward to the experience. Keith and Kristyn Getty have become some of my favorite worship leaders and modern hymnwriters, and we have never had the opportunity to see them live. We arrived at the seminary chapel on Thursday evening a full thirty minutes early, and the place was already packed. Even this thrilled my soul because of the wonder it is when fellow believers join together, all crammed in one space, to unashamedly and in one accord lift our voices to the Lord. The Gettys have been gifted by the Lord in their ability to write timeless, modern hymns anyone can sing. Not only are the lyrics rich with Scriptural truth and doctrine, but they are written in a way that the small country church with a sorely out of tune piano can sing just as easily as the large well-equipped church in the city. Some of the songs they introduced us to on Thursday evening were new, and even then I was moved by the audience's willingness to dive in and sing with full abandon. During some of the more familiar hymns, I found myself sitting in the chapel pew with tears in my eyes, praising the Lord for how sweet He has been to us in recent days and weeks. There was also an overwhelming sense of unity and passion for declaring such truths, and I was moved to pray these things for our own small body of believers. It was one of those moments wherein I didn't have the words to express my deep sense of thanks, so I simply allowed the music to fill up what I could not articulate on my own.

Every Promise

From the breaking of the dawn to the setting of the sun,

I will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Words of power, strong to save, that will never pass away,

I will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

For Your covenant is sure, and on this I am secure—I can stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

When I stumble and I sin, condemnation pressing in,

I will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

You are faithful to forgive that in freedom I might live,

So I stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Guilt to innocence restored,You remember sins no more—

So I'll stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

When I'm faced with anguished choice, I will listen for Your voice,

And I'll stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Through this dark and troubled land You will guide me with Your hand

As I stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

And You've promised to complete ev'ry work begun in me—

So I'll stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Hope that lifts me from despair, love that casts out ev'ry fear,

As I stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Not forsaken, not alone, for the Comforter has come,

And I stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.

Grace sufficient, grace for me, Grace for all who will believe—

We will stand on ev'ry promise of Your Word.