There’s an old song that I used to love to hear and sing when I was a little girl.  “I woke up this mornin’ with my mind stayed on Jesus, hallelujah, hallelujah!”  Have you ever had this happen to you?  Where you wake up and feel His presence and everything else takes second place to the thought of Jesus?  A day that is promising new things from Him as you walk hand in hand with the Lover of your soul?  As I write this I can feel emotions welling up within my heart because there have been times that I have experienced this in my life.  I have known those times where fear isn’t front and center and I am full of hope and joy.

Lately my fear-prone heart has been burdening me as I wake up in the mornings.  Although those sweet times of intimacy with God that I mentioned have never been an everyday experience for me, for the most part mornings have always been characterized as hopeful and new; without yesterday’s concerns showing up for coffee and devotions.  I miss the promise that mornings have held.  Even with worries and cares and stressful situations that ebb and flow throughout life, my mornings have largely been occupied with peace.  Why this heaviness, Lord?

God, where has my joy gone?  In His attentive provision He reminded me of the chapter in the Bible about abiding in Him.  As I turned to that passage in John 15, I was moved with the specific wording of three of the verses that I had not exactly recalled.  Jesus said, “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.  If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.  These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.”  God led me to these verses and they specifically address joy!  He wants us to have joy and has prepared the way for it.  Obedience is a provision, a shelter for our hearts and minds and lives.

There may be times when we just cannot get out of the shadows of darkness.  I have been there, and tried to understand why.  Sometimes the answers to our questions remain unknown to us for a while.  I’m trying to obey and seek Him, why can’t I find joy?  Maybe this is where we learn trust, to be okay with not understanding; believing that God is good and that He loves us with an everlasting love.  Contrary to how it may seem, He is at work in our lives and has never left us or forsaken us.

Unrest in our hearts often brings to the surface something that needs attention.  Without it we would never stop and push aside our distractions to see that something is wrong.  Comfort and uninterrupted routine can have us operating on auto, not realizing the changes that we desperately need in order to be healthy and, in some cases, save our lives.  God is merciful.  He is so faithful to care for His children and He will tend to all that we cannot fix or heal on our own.

I told my youngest son when he was around nine years old that trusting God when you can’t see any light will build your faith muscles.  God will lead us to what will make us whole.  Only He knows all and sees every broken part of us, things we may not even realize need healing.  Jesus tells us to abide in His love, to keep His commandments that our joy may be full.  He is the source of our joy.  D. Miall Edwards wrote, “Christian joy is no mere gaiety that knows no gloom, but is the result of the triumph of faith over adverse and trying circumstances, which, instead of hindering, actually enhance it.”

Lord, may we not let fear or confusion or pain separate our hearts from Yours.  May we trust in Your Word even when we cannot make sense of things.  May we not ever hold out to see the answers before we believe.  Help us in this, Lord.  This is so hard to do.  May we wake up with our minds stayed on You as we trust You to finish the work You’ve started in us.

You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.  Isaiah 26:3

Stay, My Heart

Stay, My Heart
Please, heart don’t leave, don’t wander away
You don’t even notice that you’ve already strayed

Stay, my heart
Stay by His heart
Bind yourself to Jesus

Give Him everything and worship at His feet
Just let go of all your fear

Stay, my heart
Stay by His heart
Bind yourself to Jesus

You are more than flesh and bone
This crazy world was never meant to be your home
Let His heart be your home

Stay, my heart
Stay by His heart
Bind yourself to Jesus
Bind yourself to Jesus

Please, heart don’t leave, don’t wander away