I sought the Lord, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4 NKJV

As I have mentioned before, I love it when a song contains word-for-word Scripture. The Word of God is the only weapon we have to use against our enemy, so the more we have memorized and at the ready, the better off we are. Scripture put to good music is soooo much easier to memorize!  I also get excited about songs, especially worship songs, that “recycle” lyrics from an older song or hymn. God designed music to move us emotionally, and we tend to remember the things that stir strong emotion. When I hear those words from long ago, in my mind I am back in my childhood church – where I first learned to sing Christian music. I have clear memories of what it sounded like to have a full sanctuary plus piano and organ blasting out the words to Holy, Holy, Holy and Victory in Jesus and To God Be the Glory. Sometimes I even remember snippets of songs I heard the choir sing back then – and trust me, that was a LONG time ago!

I would be willing to bet that many, if not most of you know Blessed Assurance (Jesus is Mine). Lyrics from verse and chorus of this hymn standard are woven through Trust in God, a new worship song from the folks at Elevation Church in North Carolina. We will be singing it this Sunday, and it is a beautiful blending of familiar and new that reminds me of my roots but then builds excitement for what God is doing here and now as well as in the future of this little white church on a hill. 

And then, in the bridge of the song, we hear echoes of Psalm 34:4 and 8 (listed above and below this article). What an amazing thing it is to know that when we seek the Lord, when we call out to Him, He hears us! And what a promise – that we will be saved out of all our troubles – rescued from the fears that cripple us. Don’t get me wrong! It would be unwise to expect God to pull us out of all our problems right now, although He certainly can if He wants to. But it is our challenges and trials that move us closer to Him and deepen our faith. Besides, He would have to take us out of the world to do that, and that is not what I am looking for right now. I believe rather that this is a promise for all believers that one of these days, when the time is right (according to God’s calendar), we will be removed from this troubled planet and transported to the perfection and glory of Heaven, where God Himself will wipe every tear from our eyes. Until that time, I hope we are all taking advantage of every opportunity to sing His praises and seek Him with all our hearts.

This poor man cried out, and the Lord heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. Psalm 34:8

Careen