"Awake, my soul!"

"Awake, my soul!"

(Psalm 108:1)

I've become a big fan of MUMFORD & SONS recently.  This group from the UK has a very compelling sound... but with even more compelling lyrics!  Their project, "Sigh No More" is an amazing album.  One of the songs on that recording is called "AWAKE MY SOUL." 

The song starts rather choppy & syncopated, reflecting the inner condition of a person who is troubled, conflicted & uneasy.  The chorus changes, however. It's grand, sweeping & uplifting.  "Awake, my soul!  Awake, my soul!  Awake, my soul!  You were made to meet your maker.  You were made to meet your maker."

Usually we think of the phrase "meeting your maker" as an expression of death.  But I see it in this song as an expression of LIFE!  We were made to be alive... to life, love, and to God!  Too often we're content to "get by" or "cruise" through life... sort of like autopilot.  We need to be reminded that our souls need to be awakened.

So when I read Psalm 108 today in my devotions, these three simple words wrapped their hands around my heart: 'AWAKE MY SOUL!'  I need to hear that.  I'm guessing you might, too.

There's one other line from Mumford & Sons' song that I wanted to share.  "In these bodies we live, in these bodies we die / Where you invest your love, you invest your life."  May we invest in the One who Created, Redeemed, and Sustains us!  Awake, my soul!!!  AMEN.

In our own time...

"LORD, I have heard of your renown, and I stand in awe, O LORD, of your work.  In our own time, revive it; in our own time, make it known."

(Habakkuk 3:2)

Every time I read the 3 short chapters of Habakkuk, I come away with a new 'gem.'  One of my all-time favorite passages in all of scripture is Habakkuk 3:17-19 (and I thought I'd be journaling about that today - wrong!)... and yet it was the 2nd verse of chapter 3 that spoke loudest to me today.

I picture a person of deep faith... yet weathered and worn from life.  Someone who knows about God, believe in God - probably even has a vital relationship WITH God... but recognizes God has been silent of late.  This is a person rooted & grounded in the great history of God's majesty and power... and yet desires that same experience now - in his time and era.  "In our own time, revive (your work); in our own time, make it known."

Those of us "in the church" stand in the stream of the great tradition of faith.  Once we've personally experienced God's presence & power, it's life-changing.  But not everyone has that experience.  There are many people today who LONG for that kind of personal experience of God.  Not necessarily a "parting the Red Sea" kind of thing - but something that echoes of Truth, Assurance, and Grace.

What might happen if this became our prayer today?  "In our time, revive your work, O Lord!"  Not to build up any particular church or denomination - but to connect people to The One who brings abundance to life!  Might I (we) be willing to pray that prayer on a regular basis?