Weakest Days

“I can count a million times, people asking me how I can praise You with all that I’ve gone through. The question just amazes me, can circumstances possibly change who I forever am in You? Maybe since my life was changed long before these rainy days it’s never really ever crossed my mind to turn my back on You oh Lord my only shelter from the storm but instead I draw closer through this time. So I pray, bring me joy bring me peace, bring the chance to be free, bring me anything that brings You glory! And I know there’ll be days when this life brings me pain, but if that’s what it takes to praise You, Jesus bring the rain.” –MercyMe “Bring the Rain”

Think back to the worst day in your life…maybe not even the worst day, just a really bad day. What feelings does that bring up within you? Anger? Sadness? Stomach-turning disgust? We’ve all had those bad days where we just want to withdraw from the world, run to our room, cry, and throw up. Luckily, I do not have these days very often, but I had one a couple days ago. On this day, I did just that…I went straight to my cabin, took a shower, cried in the shower, and felt sick to my stomach (although camp spaghetti might have been to blame for that). I will not go into what made it a bad, and in fact it was nothing in particular, just a lot of little things building on each other that the Devil used tactfully to bring me to my knees. After I got out of the shower I went straight to a playlist on my iTunes that I made a while back. This playlist is simply labeled “Mood Lifting Music.” The very first song that popped up was the song above, “Bring the Rain” by MercyMe. I love this song so much and through it, I was quickly reminded how God uses hardships and gloomy days for His glory.

The beginning of the song is listed above. The first few lyrics are amazing…"people asking me how I can praise You with all that I’ve gone through. The question just amazes me, can circumstances possibly change who I forever am in You?” Nothing in this world can separate us from who we are in the eyes of God. Paul says in Romans 8:38-39 that “I am convinced that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor power…nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” We are forever His and safe within His embrace. 

The chorus is the other big part of this song that means a lot to me. It is a prayer begging God to do all things necessary for glory to be given to His name. Sometimes this means blue skies and the wind at our backs, but other times, the trials and tribulations hit. Either way, our mindset must be focused on making His name great and bringing Him the glory through everything that we do and everything that we go through. The other day, I had to remind myself that the feelings I had and the sickness inside of me was all a work of the Devil and that I couldn’t bring myself out of the despair that I was filled with without Him. I was required to rely on God for my strength. Joshua 1:9 says “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.” That is a promise that we can bank on and that we must use to bring glory to God even on our weakest days. Remember that God tells us that “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” I challenge you to rely on God even in the lowest of the valleys and to bring Him glory no matter what the situation. He will always prevail and will always remain faithful.