Instruct the Heart

I must hear words to music in order to connect. It's just how I am wired. So, in 2016, when I watched my husband lying in the ICU with a questionable--albeit, poor--prognosis, I leaned heavily on music to get me through.

And not just any music. It had to be the kind that would take me into the throne room of God. I cried out to Him for this man who seemed to have given up on himself, people, and life itself. I heard physicians, standing at the foot of his bed, "Mr. Jacobsen, don't give up. Give us a chance to help you," as if they knew what I knew. He was done fighting. Done trying. He was just ready to see Jesus.

But in my heart, I didn't believe Jesus was ready for him to come home. He had work to do. People's lives to reach with his testimony. So I made my way to the only One who loved him better than me. And as I did, I heard the song, Keep Moving, filled the airspace of my car. It became my battle cry. Our marching orders. God wasn't done writing Jeff's story. He's still not done.

Jeff did recover. And continues to make strides along the path of health. But sometime along the way, the music became muffled, muted at times.

I find myself struggling to keep a tune humming. Instead, voices of discouragement, disappointment, and exhaustion crept in. Life has a way with turning down the volume of victory. As though the altitude of the mountain-top high caused the spiritual ears to plug, I couldn't shake myself out of the deafening effects of the descent into the valley.

Courtesy of Google Images

It's in the valley crops are grown and harvested, where the rains settle and nourish the earth, where shade from the sun protects our skin from drying out and burning. It is in this place we can hope to find cool water and warm hearths. But it is also a place where we must spend time cultivating the ground for harvest later in the season. We can become comfortable in this place of lush existence where our bellies are filled with "milk and honey."

I know I did. I had a job that paid better than I ever had imagined possible. Our living situation was exponentially improved on in comparison to where we lived in 2016. I had settled into a coast that could carry me through, without effort or pressing the gas. 

It wasn't until I noticed others with youth and energy chasing the presence and power of God ... just like I once did. Memories of far-gone days on my face, tears soaking the floor were a testament to the trench I'd found myself in. It wasn't good.

I had allowed the absence of struggle to lull me to sleep. I was sluggish. The only remedy, to wake up my soul and command praise to be lifted as David did when he said, "Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God," (Psalm 43: 5 ESV).

It is not always easy to lift our voice and praise our LORD. And it is tempting to follow our heart but Scripture tells us our heart is deceitful, such as the discouragement and despair we can feel when hope is deferred. Instead, we are to instruct our hearts, our souls, how to act, how to respond, and how to conduct itself in the face of turmoil. Bless the LORD!

So we are to follow David's example when He says,

"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and all that is within me,

Bless His holy name!

Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits,

Who forgives all your iniquity,

Who heals all your diseases,

Who redeems your life from the pit,

Who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,

Who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's

 (Psalm 103: 1-2 NKJV).

When I reflect on the Goodness of God, I am stirred in my soul to cry out to Him for mercy, to ask for an awakening--a revival of my heart--so that I am not caught just going through the Motions.

Please allow me to encourage you with the following song. It is my prayer for all of us. Individually. As children of God. As a nation. 

Be blessed, my friend. 

... Coming soon: Guerrilla Warfare, and how we can defeat it.