"I Am Forever Yours"

If my heart is overwhelmed and I cannot hear Your voice, 

I'll hold on to what is true, though I cannot see. 

If the storms of life, they come, and the road ahead gets steep,

I will lift my hands in faith, I will believe.

I'll remind myself of all that You've done

And the life I have because of Your Son.

Love came down and rescued me

Love came down and set me free

I am Yours.  I am forever Yours. 

Mountain high or valley low,

I sing out and remind my soul,

I am Yours.  I am forever Yours. 

-Kari Jobe 

In all honesty, the past couple of months have been extremely difficult.  My body has been continuously fatigued, ill, and homesick.  I related very much with the first and third lines of Love Came Down from Kari Jobe's latest CD, Where I Find You.  (Listen Here) However, unlike the second and fourth lines of the song, I allowed my present circumstance to steal my joy and contentment.  God used some great friends to speak truth and shine light on this area of my life, as well as this song to remind me of who I am in Christ.

As I began my transition to Brasilia last year, I remember writing similar words.  Yet, how quickly I lost sight.

I believe.

I believe that I belong, through Jesus Christ, to God's story of redemption.  Our hearts yearn for this story.  As a former slave to sin and death, Jesus came to set the captives free.  We long to be rescued and to belong to this story in the midst of darkness.  And, although I do belong to this story of redemption, I am living in a world that holds fast to the other story.  The other story that tries every scheme and tactic possible to make me buy in, once again, to its empty fake-fulfillment, and forsake the call upon my life to surrender.  A word disguised and thought of as loss.

Surrender equals freedom.

Constantly calling me to get captivated by other stories, this world screams at me.  Consuming me with its story, with its many stories.  Telling me that surrender is not worth it.  Telling me, "that's not freedom at all."

But it is.

I believe.  
I sing out and remind my soul. 
I am Yours.  
I am forever Yours.

I hope for His return.