I don’t know if you remember when you first heard “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” by Hillsong, but I do without a doubt. We had dug up 18 years of roots serving with our best friends in ministry while raising our kids together in West Virginia & Kentucky. Our youngest had graduated high school and we moved the three of us to Nashville for Chris to be the Director of Missions serving Haiti. The calling was undeniable yet the pain of walking out our obedience was just as full of excitement as it was sadness. The pain of leaving two of our college age children in a city several hours away, selling our home where they/we grew up, leaving a faith family that we loved, and truly going where we were confident our feet may fail us and our trust was without borders.
The song landed heavy on my heart one Sunday morning in the summer of 2013 and to be honest I knew the song was written just for us and this time in our lives. He had called us out upon some deep waters. We’d taken significant risks in this move. Yet we knew without a doubt we were where He had called us to be. It just didn’t make much sense and then the next year and a half was full of wondering and grieving! “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.” 1 Corinthians 13: 12
Fast forward to this Sunday as we were at our son’s church and our daughter-in-law led out the song Oceans (Where Feet May Fail) during worship and the words crashed in through my ears piercing my heart. Much harder. Much Louder. You see, in 2014 I was sure we’d risked it all by digging up those deep roots, and then moving to the country of Haiti. But in this moment this Sunday, I realized it was actually the route that God used to bring us to Houston, to LIFT where we witness His graces abounding in deepest waters every single week/day/moment. And it was a beautiful revelation. Back then I thought we were risking it all, but now I know we are.
Journeying with *YOU (and your family) through this struggle that brings us all together is one of the highest privileges of our lives. This week as we celebrate Thanksgiving we will indeed be giving thanks for you and the courage you muster every single day to fight this fight, to reconcile your sexuality & faith and find your identity, freedom and truth in Jesus Christ!
When did you first hear this song and was it special to you? When have you seen His grace abound? Can you look back 1, 5, 10 or even 20 years and see where the Lord has called you out and lead you to places you never imagined He would? Where is He leading you in this season of your life? Thank Him as you look back and forward for all the ways His sovereign hand is and has been your guide. You are His and He is yours.
May your faith be made stronger today and every day as you invest in time alone with Him - in His Word and at His feet. God, have mercy on us and give us a hunger for righteousness and a thirst for time with You that nothing else will satisfy.
“Your grace abounds in deepest waters. Your sovereign hand will be my guide where feet may fail and fear surrounds me. 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 and You are mine. Spirit lead me where my trust is without borders. Let me walk upon the waters wherever You would call me. Take me deeper than my feet could ever wander and my faith will be made stronger in the presence of my Saviour”
Hear the song here. (Insert smile).
Listen to Chris' message from Group last week:
Discover the Treasures Buried in Grief and Loss
Scripture describes three biblical phases to process grief and sorrow: pay attention to pain, wait in the confusing in-between, and allow the old to birth the new.
“Finally, dear brothers and sisters, we ask you to pray for us. Pray that the Lord’s message will spread rapidly and be honored wherever it goes, just as when it came to you. Pray, too, that we will be rescued from wicked and evil people, for not everyone is a believer. But the Lord is faithful; he will strengthen you and guard you from the evil one. And we are confident in the Lord that you are doing and will continue to do the things we commanded you. May the Lord lead your hearts into a full understanding and expression of the love of God and the patient endurance that comes from Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 3
*referring to the www.LIFT.love ministry we serve in
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