My Heart will Choose to Say: Blessed be Your Name

Tonight we will talk about what it looks like to bless the Lord no matter the circumstance, mama. 

Transcript

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Sometimes the land is plentiful, and sometimes we are in a desert. But either way, we're gonna talk about what it looks like to bless the Lord in those places. We're gonna talk about that tonight on Midlight Mamas. I was literally driving my car yesterday with my children in the back, and I was in a place in my life where the sun really was shining down on me, and there were some real blessings that had flowed this week. And I thought of this very song from Matt Redman called Blessed Be Your Name. It was written in 2002, and it was written by Matt and Beth Redman, and I think it came out of a season of personal loss, and it was inspired by the book of Job. And I think the key verse in the song was The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord, Job 1 and 21. And the song deliberately holds two realities side by side. One is the desert place, which is the dryness and the pain, unanswered questions, loss, hardship. And the second is the sunshine, blessing, abundance, when the world is all as it should be. That's a line from the song. The repeated declaration throughout the song is blessed be your name. And that is showing us that it's a choice to worship God for who he is and not just for what he gives. And in the song, it talks over and over about blessed be the Lord. And the first verse says, Blessed be your name in the land that is plentiful, where your streams of abundance flow, blessed be your name. And blessed be your name when I'm found in the desert place, though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be your name. And the next verse says, Every blessing you pour out, I'll turn back to praise. It's hard not to sing it, because I know the song. And the next verse says, And when the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say, Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be your name. And the next part of the song says, Blessed be your name when the sun is shining down on me, when the world is all as it should be, blessed be your name, and blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name. And this is where the verse from Job 121 comes in to the song, and it says, This is the bridge, and it says, You give and take away, you give and take away. Blessed be your name. And I think it's important because of the two things, the two realities lining up side by side. I noticed throughout the song that the hard things come with the good things each time in each stanza, and it's when it says, like when the sun is shining down on me, when the world is all as it should be, and then also it says, and blessed be your name on the road marked with suffering, though there's pain in the offering, blessed be your name. You see, we see God's blessings so much so in the sunshine and when everything is it should be, but wouldn't we understand it less if we didn't have the hard things? I think the truth is we might not recognize it the same. You see, I am walking in a season of blessing, but I have walked in the wilderness first. And because I have walked in that wilderness, I think this feeling of the sun shining down on me feels that much more amazing because of the wilderness I've been in. The Lord is constantly trying to show us his love and his mercy and his grace. And sometimes our eyes are opened more to it than others. So, as mamas, we have a tendency to feel like we are in a desert place as we are taking care of our little ones, especially with infants and young ones when we're up in the middle of the night and we feel a little bit less energy and we feel a little bit more needs coming at us, and we realize that it feels harder, but it's such a sweet place for the Lord to minister to us as mothers and to our hearts. You see, we are called to bless the Lord no matter the storm, no matter the sunshine, no matter the flowing blessings or the hard desert places, we can still bless the Lord because we know that He sustains us in our motherhood, he sustains us in life. So we can trust the Lord that He will provide for us, He will give us everything we need, and He will deliver us out of the hard places, and He will bless us in those places and also give us those experiences where the sun is shining down on you. I have shared with you in episodes past that I've walked through hard things, and I have, but so have you, Mama. We all have a story, and what I think is neat about that is just like Job, who recognized that the Lord was the one who allowed it to happen, we can look at our lives and know that the Lord is going to use those things for good. So this song really captures my heart just because it reminds us that no matter what is happening, we can praise the Lord in the midst of what is going on. Whether you are in a desert place or you are in the sunshine place, the mandate is the same to praise the Lord in that place. So tonight I want to share with you just a few other verses that go along with this idea. One is 1 Thessalonians 5 18, and it says very simply, give thanks in all circumstances. Then there's one in Habakkuk three seventeen through eighteen, though the fig tree does not blossom, yet I will rejoice in the Lord. Psalm thirty four one, I will bless the Lord at all times, his praise shall continually be in my mouth. So mammas, I know that we experience the desert places, such as sleepless nights, hormone shifts, feeling unseen, sometimes empty, often weary. But then there's those sunshine places as a mama, those sweet baby moments, the rest, the laughter, and the peace. And in both of those realities, we can still say, Blessed be your name, God. So tonight I want to leave you with that thought that you can bless him, no matter your season, no matter your circumstance. I'm gonna pray for you tonight, mamas. Lord, I pray for these mamas that you would be with them, God, whether they're in the sunshine right now or the wilderness, just let them know that you are with them, and that they are not alone, because you will never leave them alone, because you are their God, and they can trust you. Thank you, God. In your name we pray. Amen. Until next time, Mamas, I want to leave you with a blessing from number six, twenty four through twenty six. May the Lord bless you and keep you, make his face to shine upon you, be gracious unto you, and give you peace. Amen. Until next time, Mamas, remember, blessed be your name. We'll talk again soon. Take care.