By Your Side.

Tenth Avenue North is one of my favorite bands and they released a song a few years ago called "By Your Side." It's one of those songs that I've heard so many times, that the truth in it started to lose its impact. But today, this song was played during the high school sunday school class...and for the first time in a while, I felt God's voice speaking directly to my heart. I felt like He was asking me the questions in the song. I felt like He was singing truth to my heart. And I just wanted to weep in His arms. I just wanted to sit forever in that moment.

I hope that as you read these lyrics and listen to this song...you feel the taping of the Lord on your heart and that you feel God wrap His arms around you. 

"Why are you striving these days?

Why are you trying to earn grace?

Why are you crying?

Let me lift up your face.

Just don't turn away.

Why are you looking for love?

Why are you still searching as if I'm not enough?

To where will you go, child?

Tell Me where will you run?

To where will you run?

'Cause I'll be by your side, wherever you fall.

In the dead of night, whenever you call.

And please don't fight these hands that are holding you.

My hands are holding you.

Look at these hands at My side.

They swallowed the grave on that night.

When I drank the world's sin, so I could carry you in.

And give you life. I want to give you life.

And I'll be by your side, wherever you fall.

In the dead of night whenever you call

And please don't fight these hands that are holding you

My hands are holding you."

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdjRmM0Q0qs

I get so caught up in trying to please God...that I forget that is not the point of the Gospel.
The point of the gospel is that I will never be able to please God.
I will never be good enough.
I will never be strong enough.
I will never be wise enough.
And that's something that is really hard for me to grasp.
I'm a people pleaser.
So, it is in my nature to want to please.
I want to please God. I want to earn my salvation because that's easier for me to accept than free, un-earned grace.
We don't do "free" in our world. Nothing is free.
We earn our rewards. We earn our successes. 
Free grace is a hard, hard concept.

I'll never be able to do anything that will bring me closer to God.
Not if I read the Bible for six hours in one day.
Not if I attend all four church services.
Not if I feed 1,000 people with my own hands. 
Not if I pray 80 times a day. 
Not if I try really, really hard not to sin.
I'll never be able to do enough.
I'll never be able to say enough.
I cannot be enough for God.
But I want to be enough.
But every day--- I fall. Every day----I sin.  Every day----I say things that I shouldn't. I do things that I shouldn't. I'm at constant war with my flesh. And it's in that place where the truth hits me.

I will never measure up.


That's the point of the gospel.
That Jesus came, died, and rose again.
To stand in our place.
To be enough to bridge the gap between us and God.
We don't have to measure up to God's standard because Jesus stood in my place.
That doesn't mean that I am free to live how I please.
But I am free to fail. Free to struggle. Free to fall down.
I will fall. I will struggle. I will fall down.
But that's the beauty of grace.
That His grace meets us where we are at, but refuses to leave us that way.

Don't try to earn God's love. He lavished His love on you at the foot of the cross.
Don't try to be strong on your own. His power is made perfect in your weakness.
Don't try to run away from the Lord. He will never leave your side.


Rest in His truth tonight.


In His love,
HG