"I’ll praise You in this storm
And I will life my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I’ve cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm
The words above are part of the well known song, "Praise You in This Storm" song by Mark Hall of Casting Crowns. In Lifestories: Finding God's "Voice of Truth" through Everyday Life, Hall shares the story behind the song. It was actually inspired by a little girl named Erin, who lost her life to cancer at the age of ten.
Erin loved Casting Crowns and even had the opportunity to perform a dance she helped create especially for them. Erin's mom, Laurie, kept the band informed about her daughter's condition throughout her struggle with cancer. Those updates, including one where Laurie literally stood on the Word of God and read from the Scriptures over her dying daughter, touched Mark Hall deeply, and "Praise You in This Storm" is the result.
Laurie says about her final time with her daughter, "It was not like how I expected her last minutes to be. I thought I'd be hysterical, but I wasn't. She was where she always wanted to be. She told me when she was six years old that she couldn't wait to get to heaven. She said she had felt an emptiness in her heart, but when she asked Jesus into her heart, she never felt it again because Jesus had filled her and would never leave her. For the ten years she was on this earth, God used her in a remarkable, powerful way." Laurie describes having a tremendous peace that was like a shower from the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the years of fighting cancer, Laurie and Erin both praised God through the storm as the lyrics so eloquently describe. The first verse of the song says,
"I was sure by now
God you would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say “Amen”, and it’s still raining."
It's one thing to look back on the storm and praise God; it's quite another to raise your hands to heaven when the lightning is flashing and the thunder is roaring. It's only through the amazing grace of God that we can do so. Rather than drowning out our voices, the praise we give God during difficult times is the most audible of all to the world.
The songs the world hears from our hearts are also for our healing. God desires our praises, but He doesn't need them. However, He knows that WE do. In the deepest, darkest moments of our lives, we need to affirm what is true: We are loved, there is a greater plan, and God is still in control. The words we lift to heavens also lift our hearts from despair.
Like Erin and Laurie, we're all called to sing in the rain. When we do so, our Heavenly Father hears every word, the world takes notice, and our hearts are never the same. "
The question that day's devotional then asked was, What do you find to be the hardest part of "singing in the rain" to God? Why? Followed by, what are some ways you can praise God during this time?
I challenge you to either publish your comment or just think about it. Why?
I will answer mine here. The hardest part of singing in the rain to God for me is the unknown. How will I survive the storm? What will be the end result on the other side? Will we still be okay on the other side? How much will be lost in the storm?
I can praise God though by remembering that with God ALL things are possible and that this isn't our permanent home. Heaven is where we are going and THAT is my final destination. No matter what life does to me here, this world can't destroy my soul, and therefore I know how the story ends.
(My biggest storm right now is Medicaid and bills that are coming in as a result of issues and we go back to Dallas for my son soon. He woke with a horrible night terror night before last so yesterday I feared another episode as well.....)
The story ends in Heaven where I will be eternally. How about you?
Think about it.
One last thing I will share for today is this. For the longest time on our journey with my daughter, I would end my Caringbridge posts with HOPE! We have been all over hills and valleys the last eight years. My daughter has had highs in meeting P.O.D and singing three favorite songs with Sonny Sandoval along with other good things in her life so far yet lows in horrible headaches and missed activities and hospital stays....
In that same book I shared the devotional from, there is a perfect quote about HOPE I'll end today with.
"Hope is more than a word-
it's a state of being.
It's a firm belief that
even if you don't know how,
even if you don't know when
God will come through
and better days are ahead.
Life brings rain....
Hope dances in the puddles
Until the sun comes out again."
Blessings!
~ Special Momma ~
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