A Song Saved Me

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gn5CMSSAx_c

This song saved me.  Seriously.  I was in church one day singing this song at Main Place Christian Fellowship, a church by my high school, when I was 14 and the light bulb finally went on.  I had always been raised in the church and I loved God with my head but not my heart.  There is a difference.  So check yourself I suggest, and make sure your heart is soft towards Him.  Has God melted your heart yet, or is it still mostly stone?  That is the best indicator of salvation, the tenderness of your heart. :)

When singing Shout to the Lord that day it hit me for the first time that God really did create everything and I therefore owe Him my all, my everything.  I got baptised a few weeks later, showing others that I had "fallen in love" with Jesus. :)  And that is what a baptism is really, a wedding between you and Jesus.  I believe one's baptism is a wedding ceremony with God telling everyone how MUCH you love Jesus.  If it's not to say that, then it doesn't mean much. 

It is so ironic actually that the song Shout to the Lord was written by Hillsong, as I just went to Australia to visit their church finally.  Ever since I got saved I have been quite obsessed with the worship songs that Hillsong has written.  No other worship music to this day seems to speak to me like the lyrics from their songs.  Their music is truly anointed.  It is almost God-breathed, it would seem.  There is plenty of other Christian music, like what is played on the Fish etc, but those songs seem so cliche to me really, so simple; like milk when I crave steak lol spiritual steak that is.  Hillsong's worship songs are very much like steak.  The Fish Christian music is like milk.  There is an amazing depth to Hillsong's worship songs that have always inspired me greatly.  There is a transparency and realness, and there is an amazing view of God in each song and an overwelming sense of gratitude for all God has done for us! 

"My Jesus, my Savior"

Jesus saves us from sin, from ourselves, from Satan's hold on us, from other people's or substance's hold on us.
 
"Lord there is none like You" 

No one in the entire created world can compare with God/Jesus.  There is no one like God.  That is what it means that He is holy.  He is set apart.  He is totally other, different than anything else we already know. 

"All of my days I want to praise 
The wonders of Your mighty love "

Meaning I never want to stop praising you.  I don't want to do it for a little while because it's cool in church and the thing to do but then stop when it's my own time.  "All of my days" I want to love you and worship you, with all that I am, with my whole heart.  Why?  Because of His amazing love for us!  I love that they used the word "wonders" because His love is completely wonderful isn't it? :)  We should be swept away that the God of the ENTIRE universve loves US.  Why does He?  How could He?  So often we take His love for granted but if you really stop and think about it, it is completey amazing and completely wonderful. :)  And it is mighty in that He is strong so His love is very strong.  His love never dies, it never fails, it never falters because He as God never falters.  He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.  He never changes.  His love alone is unfailing.

"My comfort, my shelter
Tower of refuge and strength"

When I was little my mom would sing a song to me called You Are My Hiding Place.  I grew up in a somewhat traumatic home environment due to having a bad father who was a sex addict, among other things, and this song always made me feel safe when my mom sang it.  She would sing, "You are my hiding place.  You always fill my heart with songs of deliverance.  Whenever I am afraid I will trust in you.  Let the weak say I am song in the strength of the Lord.  I will trust in you."  This made me realize that whenever I was afraid I could run to Jesus.  I knew He would always protect me and always comfort me.  He was my shelter in the midst of the storm that I grew up in.  He was always my hiding place, my safe place, and I knew I could always run to Him to comfort me.  He was my tower of refuge.  Yes God allowed bad things to happen to me, but I knew He was always there with me, in the fire.

The truth is we live in a very scary and dark world, full of evil and pain etc.  Satan is the ruler of this world and he invades people's minds all the time and causes them to do things they would not normally do.  He tempts the flesh to sin and cause hurt to others.  But God is our shelter and our comfort.  We can always feel secure knowing that He will protect us.  What happened when the three men were thrown into the fire in the book of Daniel?  Jesus was in there with them.  God saved them and comforted them in the fire.  He does the same with us. :)  Do you trust Him to do so?  I can tell you I have been through the fire many, many times, but He is always there with me, holding me, comforting me, telling me things are going to be ok.  He never leaves us like others might when things get hard.  He will always comfort and protect us, even though he allows us be put in the fire sometimes.  He is right in there with us.  He can handle it.  And He can help us handle it. :) 
 
"Let every breath, all that I am
Never cease to worship You"

Not just part of me, not just what is convenient, but ALL of me.  To go headlong into it, to worship God with all that we are.  To really love the Lord our God with our whole heart, mind, body and soul.  Do we do that?  When the chips are down do we still praise Him with all that we are?  And every breath; the Bible talks about praying without ceasing.  Does every breath we take and every word we say honor God?  Probably not.  But that should be the goal. :)

"Shout to the Lord
All the Earth, let us sing"

Somewhere in scripture it says that if we did not praise God the rocks would cry out how worthy and amazing He is!  All the earth sings with us when we sing.  Listen to the birds in the morning sometime.  They just might be praising God for a new day.  They might be thanking him that they are still alive and the sun came up again.  We live in God's creation and it sings to, or declares of, his majesty every time we see a sunset, a mountain towering in the air, a smooth calm lake in the woods, a forest full of trees in the fall....God's greatness can be seen everywhere. 
 
"Power and majesty
Praise to the King"

This was the part that hit me when we were singing this song when I was 14.  That Jesus/God is King.  That I needed to make him King and Ruler over my whole life.  I had been running my own life the way I wanted up to that point.  I ran around in junior high, snuck out at night a number of times, shoplifted, tried smoking and drinking and relationships etc.  I was all over the place lol.  I was by no means submitting to God or His will for my life.  I certainly knew all about God, logically, in my mind.  I had memorized countless verses in Awanas and been in church since I was a newborn lol.  But that didn't change my behavior.  I still was doing whatever I wanted to do.  At that moment, however, I finally put God on the throne of my life.  I finally waived a white flag lol.  I finally yielded and surrendured to Him.  I said, "Ok God you're right I've been messing things up.  I'm sorry.  You can be on the throne now Ok.  I'll step down so you can step up in my heart, in my life.  You can be the leader and I will follow you WHEREVER you want to take me."  lol and He has taken me to many, many places. :)  We have had quite a many adventure together and I'm glad I let Him take the lead finally. :)  Life has been much better since I did. :)
 
"Mountains bow down
And the seas will roar
At the sound of Your name"

Every time I sing this song I picture mountains actually bowing down and what that would look like.  Can you imagine?  That would be like the coolest thing by far you could ever see!  And the seas roaring.  I have seen some 20 foot waves and it is indeed amazingly majestic.  You can't help but be swept away by the sheer power and force you see in the waves crashing down.  People that surf these waves are completely crazy lol because they can kill you.  The ocean can be quite terrifying really.    

"I sing for joy at the work
Of Your hands"

I think my mom has always said when she sings this part she thinks of the work that God did on me.  And I'm sure that would indeed bring her great joy lol, because I was setting myself on a very not good path when I was 13. :)  I always think of a sunset, or a babbling brook tucked away in a forest somewhere or a massive waterfall or the amazing colorful fish you can see when snorkling.  But that's just me. :)  What do you think of?
 
"Forever I'll love You
Forever I'll stand"

This makes me think of heaven.  How I will stand forever in heaven praising God and Jesus, for ETERNITY.  That is a LONG time lol.  It will never end.  Forever is forever.  It also makes me think of the fact that I will love God forever, on this earth and in the after life.  It is a commitment, just as much as a wedding is a commitment between two people to love each other forever, so getting saved is committing to love Jesus/God/the Holy Spirit forever with our whole heart, mind, body and soul.  It's not just for a week or a month.  It's a commitment for forever. 
 
"Nothing compares
To the promise I have
In You"

I actually always think of guys when I sing this part lol.  I always have actually.  Nothing compares to the promise I have in you.  Nothing any guy says compares to my promise to honor God.  Perhaps the intention of the song writer is to make us think of whatever our idol of choice is.  For some it is work etc.  For some it is money.  Mine has always been guys.  But God reminds me over and over that guys cannot compare with Him at all.  They will always disappoint, but God never does. :)