What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?

What Do You See Outside YOUR Open Window Today?
Remember: "When God closes a door, He always opens a window!" You never know what might be out there waiting for you!

Sunday, January 29, 2017

The Secret Garden Chronicles-Day 6-He Hideth My Soul

Today it was a little rainy, cold and dreary, so it wasn't a good day to sit in the Secret Garden...
Looking out the window toward the Secret Garden

But  God had already prepared another place for me to sit under the cover of our back porch, and still be in a quiet, peaceful place, sheltered by His loving hands.


This is also a very special place , set apart as a memorial garden in loving memory of our precious son Matthew, who was called away to heaven much too soon for us, but right on time in God's perfect plan for his life.


And so I ventured out, and entered the garden and prepared my heart for worship.  The first thing I noticed before sitting down was how the birds were being sheltered within the trees and the birdfeeder, as they waited out the drizzly rain.




And immediately my heart started to sing and praise the Lord , yes, I actually sang silently so as not to disturb the birds, but my heart was singing out loud, and I know God heard me...

"A wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord,
A wonderful Savior to me..
He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
where rivers of pleasure I see.

Chorus:

He hideth my soul in the cleft of the rock
that shadows a dry thirsty land,
He hideth my life in the depths of His love,
and covers me there with His hand...
And covers me there with His hand.

A wonderful Savior is Jesus, my Lord;
He taketh my burden away..
He holdeth me up, and I shall not be moved;
He giveth me strength as my day...

(chorus)

With numberless blessings 
each moment He crowns,
and, filled with His fullness divine,
I sing in my rapture,
Oh! Glory to God!
For such a Redeemer as mine!

(chorus)

When clothed in His brightness,
transported I rise
to meet Him in clouds of the sky;
His perfect salvation,
His wonderful love,
I'll SHOUT with the millions on high!!

(Chorus)
(He Hideth My Soul, by Fanny Crosby)

Then God directed me to Isaiah 51:15-16:

"But I Am the Lord your God,
Who divided the sea whose waves roared--
The Lord of hosts is His name.

And I have put MY words in your mouth,
I have covered you with the shadow of MY hand..."

And I responded with Psalm 32:7-8:

"You are my hiding place;
You shall preserve me from trouble;
You shall surround me with songs of deliverance.

I (God) will instruct you and teach you
in the way you should go;
I will guide you with my eye."

Then God brought me to Psalm 31 as follows:

14> "But as for me, I trust in You, O Lord;
I say, 'You are my God,
15>  My times are in Your hand...'"

19> "Oh how great is Your goodness,
which You have laid up for those who fear You...
which You have prepared for those who trust in You
in the presence of the sons of men!

20>  You (GOD) shall hide them in the 
"secret place" of Your Presence 
from the plots of man;
You shall keep them "secretly"
in a pavilion from the strife of tongues."

I couldn't help but notice how God was showing me how He is covering me (us) with His loving hands...and hiding us in the "secret place"...away from the plots of men and those who would seek to harm us.  In this current day and age, many of us have concerns about the "plots of men and those who would seek to harm us"...terrorists and other enemies of our nation, as well as the enemies of our faith.  But God is sheltering, protecting, and keeping us safe in the secret place of His love. We need not fear what man may do to us.

My heart broke out in song again:  singing the praise chorus that says...


"How Great Is Our God"
The splendor of a king
Clothed in majesty
Let all the earth rejoice
All the earth rejoice

He wraps Himself in light,
And darkness tries to hide
And trembles at His voice
Trembles at His voice

How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see
How great, how great is our God

Age to age He stands
And time is in His hands
Beginning and the end
Beginning and the end

The Godhead Three in One
Father, Spirit and Son
The Lion and the Lamb
The Lion and the Lamb

How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see
How great, how great is our God

Name above all names
Worthy of all praise
My heart will sing
How great is our God

Name above all names
You are worthy of all praise
And my heart will sing
How great is our God

[3x]
How great is our God
Sing with me
How great is our God
And all will see
How great, how great is our God


And then I sang the more familiar chorus to "How Great Thou Art"

"Then sings my soul,
my Savior God, to Thee;
How great Thou art,
How great Thou art...

Then I looked across the page in my Bible Psalm 30, and I see some of the verses that I've underlined as they've become precious to me since the passing of our son almost three years ago...

Psalm 30:4-5

"Sing praise to the Lord,
you saints of His,
and give thanks at the remembrance of His holy name...

For His anger is but for a moment,
His favor is for LIFE;
Weeping may endure for a night,
but JOY comes in the morning!"

Verse 11:

"You have turned for my my mourning into dancing;
You have put off my sackcloth
and clothed me with gladness,
 12:

To the end that my glory may sing praise to You
and not be silent...
O Lord my God,
I will give thanks to YOU forever..."

"Then sings my soul,
My Savior God, to Thee...
How great Thou art,
How Great Thou art!"

No, I'm not so calloused that I no longer mourn or grieve the loss of our son, 
But...I KNOW where he is!!  He's with God Our Father, Jesus the Son, Our Savior, and the Holy Spirit...All there together...in heaven for eternity!  And we will see him again one day,
so how can I be sad?  He's safe at home, eternally!  Praise God for that peace and assurance!  

"Blessed Assurance, Jesus is mine!
Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation,
purchase of God,
born of His Spirit,
washed in His blood.

This is my story,
this is my song,
Praising my Savior
all the day long.
This is my story,
this is my song;
Praising my Savior all the day long!!"
Amen

(Blessed Assurance, by Fanny Crosby)
Note: I sure look forward to meeting 
Fanny Crosby someday in heaven!
What a blessing she has been to me and 
countless millions of people who have sung 
the hymns she wrote out of her heart and love for
Jesus Christ our Savior!


I pray that your Sunday worship is a time of great joy, knowing that the Lord hides our soul in the cleft of the rock...and that He is keeping us safe within the shelter of His loving hands.  
"How Great is OUR God!!!"  
Amen!!

9 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Thank you so much, and welcome to "The Secret Garden". May your day be blessed and filled with the joy of the Lord. I hope you will come back and visit again soon!

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  2. My condolences, Pamela. I know people stop saying that as time passes, but I think it is still fitting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thank you Sandi. Your words are very comforting. Not a day goes by that we don't think of our son in some way, but now we choose to think about the joy and beauty he is experiencing in Heaven...and how he is viewing life here from God's perspective...and we wish we could ask him what the "mood" is in heaven as they watch the world events from afar. We think they are getting ready for Christ's return to the earth...and things are really getting exciting up there...and our Matthew would be right in the middle of all that. So thinking about him that way gives us comfort and joy. He's in a MUCH better place!!! But thank you for caring. That means a lot to me.

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  3. Pam, once again you've shared some beautiful words. I love it when God give me music (nothing that I've written but from the pen of others)! What a joy it is to sing praises to the Lord. Last Sunday, the Lord brought to mind part of a hymn that I haven't heard in years: "Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb?"

    Like you, I look forward to meeting Fanny Crosby one day; I also look forward to meeting Eugene Bartlett--who wrote "Victory in Jesus" and many other hymns.

    Blessings!

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    Replies
    1. I am an "old hymn" groupie...I love singing old hymns...they have so much meaning...and yet I love many of the newer contemporary songs as well. But when I start worshiping the Lord, it is the Old hymns that come back to me, I guess because that is what I've known since childhood and it is a big part of my life in the Lord. Yes, I love "Are You Washed in the Blood of the Lamb" too...and Victory in Jesus is one of my most favorite, having sung it with my family quartet many times (my father, sister, my hubby and me..back in the day...) THank you for your visit today Kim. I always love to see your smiling face!!

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  4. Such a beautiful and poignant post, Pamela. I know you miss your son so much, but have the strong faith it takes to know he is in the Father's loving arms.
    Thank you, too, for sharing these hymns, old and new. Just yesterday at church, the praise team sang How Great is Our God - brought me to tears!
    Blessings!

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