Psalm 98:1 “Sing to the LORD a new song, for He has done marvelous things; His right hand and His holy arm have worked salvation for Him.”
A few years ago, I reached a milestone in my grief journey. I was able to go through my son’s room and clean out all of his clothes. My dear friend said that if I gave her his clothes, she would make a beautiful quilt for us with all the fabric in his clothing. That way, we could each have a piece of his clothing and all the beautiful memories that were attached. I’ve been wanting to do it for a long time, but I haven’t been able to bring myself to go through his personal items that reminded me so much of him. As I went through each article of clothing, beautiful memories flooded to the surface and each time I pulled out a shirt or some pajamas, I pictured him wearing it. It was difficult; there were lots of tears; it was painful and bittersweet, but I did it. After it was over, my husband and I rearranged his room and we made it into a prayer room, a place where I can go and sit on his bed and allow the Lord to speak to my soul, a happy place where I can sit at the Lord’s feet and breathe into my broken heart His healing balm.
Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be the glory.” The winds of change blow through our life, sometimes gently, sometimes like a tropical storm. We have resting places along the way where He gives us time to catch our breath, but when the winds turn into a storm and start to whip us around, we have a tendency to resist, and we wrap ourselves tighter into ourselves hoping things will get back to normal, but could it be that the Lord is preparing us for that new normal? Trusting God who is able to do more exceedingly above what I ever could have hoped or imagined is hard, because it requires letting go of my control and laying it down at His feet. I know He is a Good Father and He would never lead me down a path that is not where He intends for me to be.
Isaiah 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the LORD; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of His righteousness.” What a beautiful picture of the essential heart of our Father and His New Covenant with His children. When I recognize that I cannot achieve righteousness on my own by anything I do, but call on the mercy of God, my Lord covers me with His divine righteousness by grace through faith in Him. I am able to sing a new song and my soul delights greatly in my Savior and rejoices in my God. His garments are beautiful new robes of righteousness with a promise of eternity that we have inherited, the gift of Heaven that we cannot earn, but is given to us freely by the One who went before us.
When we read about the disciples being tossed by the wind and waves in their boat on the Sea of Galilee in Matthew 14, they had been in the boat for at least nine hours in this fierce storm and it wasn’t until Jesus came to them at the last conceivable moment, when they were exhausted and afraid, and had run out of every single resource, it was then and only then where they finally laid down their oars and said, “I can’t row another second, I can’t go another inch on my strength, please, Lord, help me.” And what did the Lord do? He waited until these men realized they needed a Savior; He allowed them to come to the end of their hope and He came walking on the water, where they invited Him to come into their boat, and He calmed the seas and the storm ceased, and immediately their little boat was at the land where they were going. (John 6:20-21.) They were right where they were supposed to be.
– Melody
