I am still working on a write up for this section but until then here is a behind the scenes of why i wrote Psalm 13 and what i learned from doing so.>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
During my time as a worship leader I found that most of the songs we were being encouraged to sing were upbeat and joyful in nature. I remember struggling through them, as they seemed so out of touch with what I was going through at the time. It was hard to sing only songs of the summit while walking on the valley floor, but I did anyways hoping that somehow imitation might lead to the real thing, and I think to some degree it does. These songs are about the things hoped for and what a joy it is to know now, that in the end Christ is victorious. It takes faith to sing of triumph because triumph is sometimes the opposite of what our circumstances are dictating. We must never lose sight of our destination; that place where all our hopes are fulfilled, but we must also deal with the here and now for surely the here and now will not cease in its dealings with us.
Psalm 13 is one of those psalms that deal with the here and now. It deals with doubts, feelings of abandonment, fears of being overcome and the struggle of trusting in a God that can seem so distant at times. A team member came with this psalm as devotion one night and as she read these words out loud something within me awoke, something that had longed to cry out like an inward groaning that had not yet learned to speak.
Up until this point I had learned to suppress these feelings of doubt, abandonment, frustration, anger and all the rest. I thought that these were not the types of feelings or thoughts that a good Christian should be having. But when I tried to suppress them I found a resistance far greater than any strength I could muster. Not only was I powerless to remove them but I soon realized that they were growing, moving inward and moving me.
Among the many things that I was struggling with at the time the one that haunted me the most was the apparent absence of the freedom Christ promised to those who called on His name. My battle with lust was like struggling to free oneself from a pit of quicksand the more I fought the deeper I sank. In this situation the only thing you have that is of any use is your vocal chords and so I called and called for Christ to come and set my feet on solid ground. In the absence of an answer, or rather, the absence of the answer I was looking for, I began to doubt. Was I really saved? Was Christs deliverance real? Was Christianity a hoax? On top of all this was the incredible guilt of having even thought of such things.
But the biblical laments such as Psalm 13 reveal that God wants us to bring these issues before Him and that He would never turn us away or take offense to the doubts we are having, even in Him! God knew what I was thinking so it was not so that He could be informed, it was so that I could be transformed. He was the only one big enough to handle the questions aroused by my suspicions, and like Job, the solution was not in answering them but in knowing Him. You can not know deliverance without first knowing your Deliverer. Another way that this has often been put to me is that we must take our eyes off the problem and keep them on the solution, namely Jesus.
The Lament is this very process. Instead of focusing on the areas of our lives that are weighing us down, we are bringing them before the Almighty without censorship, and in so doing, bringing them to the only one who can bear the weight of whatever it is we are dealing with. For Jesus said, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt. 11:28
Let us continue to sing the songs of the summit while in the valley of our sojourn but let us also remember the songs that reflect the here and now. Without having the Lament as part of our walk with Christ; without having that uncensored relationship where we can let it all out in the presence of His mercy, we are like Adam and Eve still hiding in the garden, covering our shame with whatever we can find. But Gods footsteps are still heard in the cool of the day and when He calls out, Where are you? dont be afraid to tell Him just where you are at.............
Jason Pluim
Hey! I wanted to let you know that I just posted two new songs from my debut album "Like I'm Beautiful" which comes out in March. I hope you'll check out the music and look for the album when it is released next month :)
You can download tracks from Justin McRoberts' newest release Deconstruction for ANY PRICE YOU WANT. Or tell a few friends about the record and get them for FREE!
The Worldview website just launched this week and we're trying to get as many people as possible to be part of the word of mouth campaign. The new site is a coalition of child sponsorship organizations and 16 international bands and singer/songwriters united against child poverty.
You can check out the site at worldview.ca (there are links from my page) and if you think it's worthwhile, tell your friends. There are also lots of tools on the “get involved” page to help you spread the word.
Some of the poorest children on the planet are counting on us to pull this off. Please do what you can.
We hope you had an incredible weekend!
The Easter celebration is the most exciting time of the year!
He is risen! We want to thank all of you for showin us love along the way. What a journey we're all on... this journey of faith.
Much Love,
SweptAway
The best way to reach us is by sending an email to:
sweptawaymanager@yahoo.com
We need your help! We are in the running to play this summer at the Cornerstone Festival, and your votes are the only way we can get in. So here's how you can help. CLICK HERE to go to the cornerstone website. Once you get there, click on the link that says "Sign in to vote for RYAN WILKINS registration is free". you will need to register to vote, but it is free, and only takes a minute. Then, you will be sent an email confirming your entry. In the email, there will be a link to go to the Cornerstone website to complete your registration. Then, go back to the URL that you originally visited (the link above) and click on the "Vote" button. Here's the other thing...PLEASE TELL AS MANY PEOPLE AS YOU CAN! THE MORE THE BETTER. PLEASE HELP US WIN THIS CONTEST! WE REALLY APPRECIATE YOUR SUPPORT!
As we are about to celebrate Easter, I wanted to send You the lyrics of a song I wrote a long time ago as a reminder of God´s unconditional love.
Consider how he loves you, consider how he cares
For there can´t be a greater love than to lay down your life for a friend
The wheel of history´s turning, as he forgives in pain
In meekness and humility there dies the son of man
Consider how he loves you, consider how he cares
He is a priceless treasure, not a billion words could explain
He´s called “a friend of sinners”, though he is pure in heart
If he was not a sinner´s friend, my friend he could not be
Consider how he loves you, consider how he cares
He is a God of mercy, amazing is his grace
With words of deep affection He is knocking at my door
That I might listen and adore the greatest friend of all
On this weekend that for many of us is all about self-sacrifice, please take some time to consider sponsoring a child through Christian Children’s Fund, Compassion, Plan or World Vision…it only costs about $1 a day. (There are direct links to all four charities on my profile)
How are you doing? Has 2007 been a good year for you so far? Let us know what's going on in your life. We're one big family here, right? Our prayer is that we would let God; rule, reign and roam freely in our lives. Let us know if you would like us to come out to your area.
