Blessed be the name of the Lord

Blessed be the name of the Lord!

We went to the Dr the other day and it went well. The doctor agreed to reduce the nursing to 16 hours/day. This is great news. Since Luke came home from the hospital, we have had a nurse in the house 24 hrs / day with a couple exceptions. It is nice to be able to have a little family time alone. Luke seems to be swallowing more and more each day, thank you for praying. The doctor said that they would not do another test to check his swallowing before spring. My hope and prayer is not only will Luke be swallowing, but that he will walk into the Dr office at that visit. We seem to be finding some routine in the midst of all of this, although at times its hard to be sure.

Sue and the baby girl are doing well. Last night the baby was kicking big time. In spite of that, Sue was able to get a good block of sleep, in fact she is still sleeping.

Amy turned 17 yesterday and we will be celebrating her birthday on Saturday when Daniel is home from school. Happy Birthday Amy, we Love You!

You might be wondering why I titled this post "Blessed be the name of the Lord". Well, it is the name of a song written by Matt Redman and recorded by a group Tree 63. This song has been a real encouragement to me. At times I begin to look at the circumstances instead of keeping my eyes on Jesus and as a result, I become discouraged. I find that when I listened to this song and choose to Bless the name of the Lord, that I am the one that gets blessed. One evening I was listening to this song and I thought about Job and so I decided to read the book of Job. Job is a man of God that is very prosperous. In the first chapter Satan gets permission to attack Job and takes all of Job's livestock and kills all of his childerern (10). To say that Job's response in Job 1:20-22 surprised me would be an understatement. He falls to the ground and worships God. He acknowledges God's sovereignty to "give and take away". Then he chooses to bless the name of the Lord. Wow! In the last part of v22 it says "....nor charge God with wrong." In other words he didn't blame God for what he was going through. It was through the act of worship and choosing to Bless the name of the Lord, that Job found freedom from his troubles.

In Job 2:9 Job's wife says to him "...curse God and die!" Job's response is amazing. He says to her "Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?” Wow! Accept adversity, now this is a foreign concept to most of us.

As I have meditated on this song and Job's situation, it has been a huge victory for me. As I began to choose to Bless the name of the Lord and accept the adversity that I am (we are) going through, there is a freedom that comes with it. It is not to say that there are not moments of challenge, trial and discouragement, but when they come, it is a matter of acknowledging Him and Blessing his Name. It is a choice that each of us has to make each day, what will you choose? We are to pickup our cross daily and follow him. I am not sure what cross he has given for you to bear, but I do know that if you will let him, he will help you bear it. I recently read a quote that says "The will of God will not take you where the grace of God cannot keep you." God does not give us more then we are able to bear. What will you choose today? Will you choose to Bless the name of the Lord and follow Him? Or will you go it alone and struggle under the weight of a mighty cross. Join me on this journey we call life and choose to follow Him. If you are not sure how, then send me an e-mail at howslukedoing@yahoo.com and we can talk more about it one on one.

Thank you Matt for writing the song and thank you Job for living it.
Here are the words to the song by Matt Redman

Blessed Be Your Name

(Verse 1)
Blessed be Your Name, in the land that is plentiful,
Where the streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your Name.
Blessed be Your Name, when I’m found in the desert place
When I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your Name.
Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise,
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say,

(Chorus)
Blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your Name
Blessed be the Name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious Name

(Verse 2)
Blessed be Your Name, when the sun’s shining down on me
When the world’s all as it should be, blessed be Your Name
Blessed be Your Name, on the road marked with suffering
Though there’s pain in the offering, blessed be Your Name
Every blessing You pour out I’ll turn back to praise
When the darkness closes in, Lord, still I will say

(Bridge)
You give and take away, You give and take away,
My heart will choose to say, Lord, Blessed be your name

Matt Redman & Beth Redman
© 2002 Thankyou Music