He Lifts Me Up

                        

As I was driving home from work yesterday, the perfect song come on the radio while listening to my favorite station, K-Love. I would like to share the lyrics of this song and how God used them to encourage me after a long day. The song is by The Afters and is called "Lift Me Up."

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Waiting for the sunrise
Waiting for the day
Waiting for a sign
That I'm where you want me to be

I am grateful for my job, but it is certainly not my dream job. However, God is using this time and place in my life to shape me and to grow me. I was reminded of this as I was listening to this song. I had asked God for help and strength for my projects, and He had given it to me. It was the first time in a while that I could truly say that I had experienced victory over my struggles

You know my heart is heavy
And the hurt is deep
But when I feel like giving up
You're reminding me
That we all fall down sometimes
But when I hit the ground

It had been a difficult day. I made several mistakes, which I HATE doing. I am a big perfectionist, as well as a people-pleaser. These are areas in which God is actively refining me. I had fallen down--made mistakes, messed up, fallen short--but I didn't have to stay on the ground, because God was lifting me up.

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

The burdens were too much; I couldn't carry them any longer (Matthew 11:28-30)! My desire to be perfect, and my inability to accomplish this, was causing me great stress. But in my weakness, God is strong (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). And His love and grace were enough to keep me moving forward.

I know I'm not perfect
I know I make mistakes
I know that I have let you down
But you love me the same

And when I'm surrounded
When I lose my way
When I'm crying out and falling down
You are here to

Lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

Again, I HATE making mistakes. But God is showing me that I don't have to contort them into big catastrophes, as is my natural inclination. Ok, so I messed up; I made a mistake. But this doesn't mean that I can't move forward, learn from my errors, and try to do better the next time. God's love for me doesn't depend on my performance--praise Him! I can rest assured that He will catch me when I fall, wrap me in His arms of love, and give me the strength to keep going.

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love
With your love
I don't know what I can offer
In this moment I surrender to your love
To your love

God's love for me is new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). I don't have a lot to offer the Author of the universe, but when I surrender to Him, to His grace, and to His perfect plans for me, I will truly be living a purposeful and satisfying life. Because He lifts me up and supports me, I can let go and let Him take control!

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go

You lift me up when I am weak
Your arms wrap around me
Your love catches me so I'm letting go
You lift me up when I can't see
Your heart is all that I need
Your love carries me so I'm letting go

I can see the dawn is breaking
I am feeling overtaken with your love

You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up with your love
You lift me up

Love in Action

The Lord has been teaching me a lot about love--the hard way! As I encounter different life situations, I am becoming more and more aware of how much I need God's help in order to put His love into action. 1 Corinthians 13 is a beautiful summary of the characteristics that godly love displays. The first two of these characteristics are patience and kindness. "Love is patient; love is kind..." Stop right there. That's enough of a challenge to keep me engaged in battle every day for the rest of my life! At my workplace, I am faced with constant decisions regarding whether or not I am going to put this into practice. Will I stop what I'm doing in order to listen to and help a co-worker with a question? Do I get frustrated when someone doesn't understand and/or agree with my point of view? Can I keep the annoyance out of my voice (and more importantly, out of my heart!) when I am called upon to undertake a task or tackle a problem that doesn't directly relate to me? I have to say, I fail at all of these challenges every single day! However, God is working on me. He's working IN me. He's working THROUGH me, and giving me the strength and help that I need in order to love how He loves. It is definitely a struggle, but it is one that causes me to depend on Him, and to surrender my choices to the One who lives and breathes love. For God IS love--and, praise His name, His love is flowing through me! I pray that He will continue to empty me of myself and fill me with His selfless devotion a little more each day.