From this to that...

Before starting this, I want to be clear on the point that God never leaves us.  He is always there... it is us who walk away, turn our backs, ignore, avoid, etc.  It is not He that creates the divide.  Know that first.

"I knew the times would come, and now the times have landed with stinging abrasion."

"From Protest to Praise" by downhere

There are times when we suddenly feel very alone.  These times are moments that usually arrive due to consequence from something, and we are left to really think about whatever it was we did to deserve this feeling, and really be introspective about it.  If you have a conscience, these times hurt a little when they arrive, and it seems as though you are really alone.  But wait...

"As ready as I seem to be, it's never like I planned it."

"From Protest to Praise" by downhere

We plan and prepare and study and try to do right and righteous things, and we are aware that less-than-positive circumstances will occur in life (because every day certainly is NOT a Friday), but the ones we are ready for seem to be the ones that don't happen.  Then, when we prepare for different ones entirely, the first set that we are now not prepared for finally arrives.  And then this happens to each and every person on this planet...

"I'm wrestling my thoughts; I'm overcome.  'Would You give me up,' I'm asking, Lord?  There's nowhere I sense Your presence here... so I will cry out until I go from protest to praise."

"From Protest to Praise" by downhere

We begin to wrestle with whether or not we are following the right path, because our minds start to wander.  Human justifications and explanations begin to seep in, and doubt arises.  Then, in a wondrous moment, our faith comes alive and reminds us of a powerful and unavoidable truth: we were not made to understand, but to worship!  Therefore, we cry to the Lord in protest of ourselves (introspectively and collectively), and we keep screaming until that protest becomes praise (Habakkuk... all of it).  We place our confidence in God, for both our trials and our triumphs.

"It seems like eternity has made a home between us."

"From Protest to Praise" by downhere

And then it comes again, because life happens.  And all of a sudden, that chasm is great and vast and scary and dark, and we have focused so heavily on other things that through the haze we barely see the Lord across the great division that WE CREATED.  But, Christian sibling, I want you to picture what happens when we realize this and cry to the Lord with honest hearts.  Into that chasm descends a Man, placing one hand on one cliff and the other hand on the opposite cliff, creating a bridge between us and the Father.  This Man, arms outstretched, allowing us to approach the Father through Himself (John 14:6), is fixed in this moment in the position and shape of a cross that bridges the gap between the awful and sinful and wretched beings we are (each and every one of us, without exception [Romans 3:10]) and the perfect and holy and pure God and Creator of us and everything we see.  Sound familiar?

"You're changing me slow but surely, and You're gonna see me to the end."

"From Protest to Praise" by downhere

We are on a path, friends... and it is the right path, whether you see that in this moment or not.  I would encourage you, though, to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33), so that He can bring you from protest to praise in whatever circumstance you may be facing.  And He will see it through (Philippians 1:6), you can count on it.  The question is, will you cry out to Him?

Remember: You're always amazing me!

God bless you all!!!