In the quiet, in the stillness I know that you are God. In the secret of your presence I know there I am restored…

There is no one else for me, none but Jesus. Crucified to set me free, now I live to bring Him praise… -Brooke Fraser

Have you ever thought about what it means to really just be quiet and still before God? How much time do you actually spend in the stillness? I am the first to admit that I don’t spend much time in quiet. My life is crazy busy most of the time and I really miss those opportunities.  What is the verse of this song saying? It says that in the presence of God when you take the time to settle down and spend some time with him you get that restoration that your heart so desperately needs. How does that time look for you? Are you struggling to figure out when that time is right now? How important is it for you to have time where you let God restore your heart? Important enough to let some things go?

Right now, I am in the process of talking to 4 different churches about my future as a worship pastor. I never thought I’d be in this situation, but here I am. Let me tell you…if this process is anything like today has been, this is going to be a busy season in my life. However, I know that if I don’t take the time to be still before God and let Him restore my heart and mind, I’m not going to be my best as I let Him lead me in my decision making. I could very easily do something that He’s not calling me to do. As I write this, I realize that blogging is one of those quiet times for me. My life flows through my fingers during these times and it’s therapeutic for me. God speaks to me during these times and I’m able to just be…

You should try it sometime. You will be surprised at what He might tell you. I know I was…

I’ll stand, with arms high and heart abandoned. In awe of the One who gave it all. I’ll stand, my soul Lord to You surrendered all I am is Yours… The Stand Hillsong

Let me start off by saying that I love this song! I appreciate Hillsong and their ability to capture the heart of this Christian walk in song. Another job well done. Anyway…

I was thinking about this the other day and was really struck by the depth of these words. Abandoning your heart is such an amazing concept. When I think about what that means, I am immediately convicted. As a worship leader, I want to be a person who strives to live this type of thing out on a regular basis. Abandoning my heart means that I am putting aside all the things that I think are right or should be happening. I will be the first to say that I don’t do that well all the time. Thanks to songs like this I am reminded to put Christ first and step aside and let Him do what He does.

Right now, I have a lot of things going on in my hear and mind and I want to make the right decisions. I am generally an internal processor and I don’t always do a lot of talking before I work out some initial things in my head. I’ve been doing a lot of that lately, and I’m realizing that without an abandoned heart, I can put some things in the way and as a result not process clearly. I have to be able to clear out the things that are in the way so I can start to hear God more clearly.

Ultimately, the end result has to be me taking a stand for Christ. Anything that does not result in me standing for him means that I’m standing for myself. There’s nothing in me worth standing for. I’m choosing to surrender my soul and give all I have to the Lord. I gotta believe that He knows what’s best for me. From what I understand, he has a plan or something… (Jer. 29:11)