“bless the Lord, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name. bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget none of His benefits.” psalm 103:1,2

“a time to mourn, and a time to dance.” ecclesiastes 3:4

and she did

she danced

in her church

at her house

and in her heart

she danced

because she was grateful

so grateful

and everything within her praised the Lord

for saving her

rescuing her

freeing her

walking with her

and…. she spoke

she was not ashamed of the gospel

not ever

wherever she went

whomever she was with

she spoke LIFE

the Jesus Life

the Jesus Truth

the Jesus Freedom

she spoke it because she knew it, experienced it, lived it

and because of that

she desired that others experience it

so… she prayed

she prayed in her heart

she prayed in her home

she prayed in her church

and she prayed in the public.

yeah

in the public

like… over strangers who were hurting

those in need

those most others avoided

she looked for them

she asked God to trust her with them

she noticed them, approached them

offered Jesus to them

and prayed right there

“why not here? why not now? Jesus loves you. and i love you.”

she also gave

resources – food – funds

an empty bedroom

“come, mary, come anytime. your room is always ready.”

dearest Lord God, thank you for your daughter jerry brown. thank you for her worship, her faith, her celebration of You. thank you for her friendship, her generosity, her compassion…

“are you new here? i don’t believe i’ve seen you at our church before. are you here just for our women’s conference, or are you looking for a church home? do you have someone to sit with? how can i pray for you?”

15 years.

15 years of prayers, emails, phone calls, visits, car rides, overnights.

thank you, Jesus, for her willingness to empty herself and allow your great, awesome love to pour out through her. thank you that it landed on me! on my heart! on my soul!

thank you that right now she is exactly where she always dreamed of being – with You, the one her soul loves.

what did she do when she got there, Jesus? when she saw You?

i bet she gasped.

and cried out.

and ran.

and fell at your feet.

i bet she worshipped.

covering your feet with her tears.

i bet when she got up

she kissed you.

hugged you.

and then

i bet

she danced.

“You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.” psalm 32:7

ever feel like you’re surrounded?

surrounded by grief?

loss?

disappointment?

frustration?

sickness?

your own inadequacy?

your own failings?

fear that something will change?

fear that nothing will change?

do you feel surrounded by trouble? the enemy?

2 kings…..
15 When the servant of the man of God got up and went out early the next morning, an army with horses and chariots had surrounded the city. “Oh no, my lord! What shall we do?” the servant asked.

16 “Don’t be afraid,” the prophet answered. “Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.”

17 And Elisha prayed, “Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see.” Then the Lord opened the servant’s eyes, and he looked and saw the hills full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.

do you know why you feel surrounded?

BECAUSE WE ARE.

we ARE surrounded.

by grief, loss, frustration, sickness, inadequacy, failing, fear, trouble, and the enemy, just to name a few.

but we’re also surrounded by songs of deliverance!

i’ve read that verse a hundred times and never realized that it is GOD who is doing the singing! God is singing over us, around us, above us, behind us, beside us. the God of the universe sings songs over us.

furthermore….. we are surrounded by that “great cloud of witnesses” that hebrews 12:1 speaks about, numbers so great that we are encouraged to throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.

THROW IT OFF. like bust out and get free. open the eyes of your heart, your spirit, that part of you DESIGNED to perceive God – and choose to see.

see that, although you may be surrounded by the struggles of this life, THOSE STRUGGLES are surrounded by God’s songs of deliverance and by the saints who have gone before you!

you are not alone.

God sees you.

God allowed it.

God has it.

God surrounds you.

oh, God, give us eyes to see…. that more than anything, as we submit to you and trust in you, YOU continually surround us with everything we need.

from the inside out.