Overwhelmed

Wow! Have you ever had a day where you felt the presence of the Lord in every event? Today my soul was fed and my heart rejoiced in the Lord. It was a rich and full day.

I began the day by remembering Christ's sufficiency for me and asked for His strength and that He would walk with me throughout the day.

In my first class I remembered the powerful impact of mentors in my life and my own passion for mentoring.

In Chapel, I worshipped the Lord singing

"All to Jesus I surrender,
All to Him I freely give;
I will ever love and trust Him,
In His presence daily live."

Surrendering to the Lord the struggles I have been facing and recognizing my need for Him, I sang,

"Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though I walk through the wilderness
Blessed Be Your name"

and read part of Jeremiah 17 which says:

"Cursed is the one who trusts in man...but blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD whose confidence is in Him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit."

Then I went to my next class and remembered how blessed I am to have so many great friends and classmates here. All the reunions today were so fun. We also talked about the importance of keeping our eyes set on eternity while still working to live well and make a difference here.

Last I read an e-mail from a mentor/friend that reminded me that if God is sovereign and also good we can trust His hand in our life. He works for our good and in Jeremiah 32:41 God says of His people,

"I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good."

It all rounded out with a gripping description of crucifiction from my friend who just came back from Israel, and a strongly preached exposition of the gospel by Mark Driscoll (Marshill Church, Seattle) that I listened to while I worked out.

Who am I to be loved this way?

I truly have joy from the Lord and am rejoicing in Him today. I am overwhelmed by all the reminders of God's love and His many blessings in my life. That I could even find joy in offering up my pain and trial to God is another reason to praise Him. He is so worthy of my praise.

Well friends, let me close out with this song. May you draw nearer to the Lord as you remember His awesome worth.

All My Praise
Words and music by Audrey Hatcher
I will follow You through green pastures
And sing hallelujah to Your Name
I will follow You through dark disaster
And sing hallelujah through the pain

And even in the shadow of death
I will praise You
And even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise
Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise

You are seated on Your throne in heaven
And You see all of us down here
And You have promised You will not abandon
So I shall not fear

And even in the shadow of death
I will praise You
And even in the valley I will say

Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise
Holy, my God
You are worthy of all my praise

You made every star
And You taught it how to shine
You knew my name before there was time
And all this was just part of Your glorious design
Hallelujah, Hallelujah