So Come

Work has really been overwhelming lately and I've grown weary of dealing with the headaches that I've had to deal with in recent years. I read Psalms and the words of Christ and there is a beautiful relationship between pain/suffering and healing/wholeness because it forces us to lay down the things we cling to and trust in. Paul wrote that Christ's strength is perfected in our weakness. Our sensitivity to God's grace is heightened when we are undeniably weak in our flesh. I believe this with all of my heart, but that doesn't make it easy. There is a tendency to romanticize weakness or poverty because of the special place that it holds in God's heart. It is beautiful to see that this is built into his heart of love and is an extension of his demand for justice, but that doesn't make a place of weakness and poverty an easy place to be. It is tiring, messy and difficult to dwell there. It is death to our personal desires and interests, and I don't want to be there. It is hard, but it is joyful when we can give in to it, because it is necessary for our healing and wholeness. Christ spoke this in convicting fashion when he stated, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?" All too often, I make minor concessions and cheapen God's grace by chosing to dwell in my selfishness, self-preservation and laziness which stands in direct defiance of the desire Christ has for my life. As difficult as that is, the alternative is death and the absence of God, there's no middle ground and I don't take things serious enough sometimes. It requires a whole lot, but it is so simple. He just requires that we come, that we search for Him and lay down our lives on behalf of others. Sometimes I'm so wrapped up in excel sheets that I lose sight of that, I miss my chess club kids and gardening in West Philly...I choose life, but it is a daily choice and a hard one, especially when you are tired and stressed out about work. I know God is teaching me that I must rely on Him, but sometimes I feel so distant and removed from His heart. His heart is always for the hurting and he loves for us to pursue him and seek him out. I love Israel's song, So Come, he channels the spirit of Isaiah and and the Psalms in reminding us that God's heart is for those who are marginalized and hurting. Thanks for simple and daily reminders of your beauty, sovereignty and grace.

You have taken the precious from the worthless
And given us beauty for ashes, love for hate
You have chosen the weak things of the world
To shame that which is strong
And the foolish things to shame the wise
You are help to the helpless
Strength to the stranger
And a father to the child thats left alone
You invited the thirsty to come to the water
And those who have no money come and buy

So come