Sometimes It Feels like I'm Watchin' From the Outside

Chris taught last week at LIFT from 1 Corinthians 16:13-14 ^“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.”

“Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong!” 1 Peter 3:15-17

 

I don’t know about you, but to me it seems that these last few days have been extremely heavy with spiritual battle(s)(the Grammys just to name one...) and huge tragedies (Turkey & Syria) in the world. To be quite honest right now today I just wanna give up the fight(s), curl up and sleep for a really long time (which is quite the opposite of standing firm)! But the message we heard last week was a reminder to be on guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong and do everything with love. I heard it. I hear it. I know it. I want to, but I am just trying to figure out how... in what feels like sinking sand. Ya know? 

 

So, I’ve taken some time to grieve some things that I’ve lost or am in the process of losing. I’ve allowed myself to feel some of the weight of these losses, yet there’s so much more to grieve. In the days ahead I will continue to bring my heart break(s) before the Lord and ask Him to soothe, protect and provide for me as only He can. I've done this so that I can stand firm in the faith. What about you? Which of the five things in 1 Corinthians do you need or want to ask God to grow you in? ^“Be on guard. Stand firm in the faith. Be courageous. Be strong. And do everything with love.” To be honest - I need to ask for His help on ALL of the above! But, one step at a time.

 

I don’t think it’s ironic at all that every single day for the last week I’ve turned on the radio in the car or asked Alexa to play worship and this one particular song comes on... it’s an oldie, but a goodie! And it has been a gentle reminder to my soul:

 

Sometimes it feels like I'm watchin' from the outside 
Sometimes it feels like I'm breathin', but am I alive? 
I won't keep searching for answers 
That aren't here to find

All I know is I'm not home yet 
This is not where I belong 
Take this world and give me Jesus 
This is not where I belong

So when the walls come fallin' down on me 
And when I'm lost in the current of a ragin' sea 
I have this blessed assurance holding me

When the Earth shakes 
I wanna be found in You 
When the lights dim 
I wanna be found in You!!!!!!

 

Building 429

-Taken from LIFT Weekly E-mail only minutes before we got unbelievably difficult news from a friend... the Lord was preparing us?