confessions of a church planter

Last night when I was putting Carley to bed, she desperately wanted her mommy. I confess that I wasn’t too appreciative of her request for Liz. Furthermore, there’s some gratification when my kids prefer me to Liz. When they prefer her, I don’t take it well! I tried to reassure Carley that her mommy would come in and check on her after she finished putting Cade to bed. That reassurance didn’t work. She started crying. She arched her back. She kept petitioning for her mommy. So, sat down in the rocking chair and started rocking her. That didn’t work. I then tried to reason with her about why she should want me rather than Liz. That didn’t work. I was left with one final measure. I started singing. Her tears of sorrow quickly turned to tears of laughter. Just kidding…my singing is bad, but not that bad.

I was singing one of my favorite worship songs to Carley, which was weird b/c it was to her for God (or the other way around). Either way, it worked. She settled down. I could even hear her singing along at certain points. That song turned into another song. Then, before I knew it, I was singing over her. I was taking the melodies of old tunes and changing the words for Carley’s benefit. What happen next was awesome! She repositioned herself from being cradled like a football to snuggling up to my neck. Instead of crying, she was smiling. For the first time in my life I realized the difference between singing to someone and singing over someone! I can’t even tell you the lyrics to the songs I was singing, but they were words that were imparting esteem, beauty, peace, beauty, wonder, beauty, uniqueness, and beauty. The words flowed easier than a song I’d sung a million times. I sang over her for only 15 minutes, but it felt like the time was lost in eternity. I closed by singing her Aaron’s blessing that the Lord would bless her and keep her, that the Lord would make his face to shine upon her, that the Lord would lift up his countenance upon her, and give her peace! I say that to her every night, but last night, I sang it over her. She went to bed with a smile on her face and a glow about her.

I didn’t want to leave her room or the sweet fellowship we had, but 24 was calling! As I idled my brain last night, I kept reflecting on that experience. This morning, the thought kept crossing my mind: THAT’S WHAT GOD DOES FOR US! I tracked down the passage of scripture pointing to this truth. It comes from Zephaniah 3:17, which reads, “The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love. He will rejoice over you with singing.”

Look at the promises in this one verse!

• The Lord God is with you-You might not be with God (fully present, I mean), you might not want to be with God, and you might not want God to be with you, but God is with you. You might unknowingly want someone or something else. You might knowingly call for someone or something else. BUT, God is with you!
• He is mighty to save-Whatever it is you saving from, God is mighty. There’s nothing too strong for the Lord. There’s nothing too big for God. If God can conquer sin and death, God is mighty to save.
• He will take great delight in you-Wow! God being with you and saving you are a result of God’s delight in you. Though I was singing over Carley to calm her at the beginning of my concert, by the end I was singing over her b/c I was delighting in her. To know that God does the same for me even when I don’t want Him around or try to save myself is a powerful truth and overwhelming.
• He will quiet you-Just like Carley stopped crying and repositioned herself, God quiets our cries and repositions us. The quiet comes not just to the volume of your voice, but also the volume of your heart.
• He will rejoice over you with singing-God sings over me. God sings over you. That makes me smile and gives me rest!