Blessed Be Your Name

Blessed Be Your Name
By Matt Redman

Blessed Be Your Name
In the land that is plentiful
Where Your streams of abundance flow
Blessed be Your name

Blessed Be Your name
When I'm found in the desert place
Though 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

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

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

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord
Blessed be Your glorious name

You give and take away
You give and take away
My heart will choose to say
Lord, blessed be Your name

Wow. Yet another awesome song we sang at Hope Point this morning. :D

This song was prefaced by Richard's sermon, which was entitled Crying With Hope. If you don't go to Hope Point, I'd suggest you go check that sermon out at www.hopepoint.org.

Anyways... The concept behind it was glorifying God despite utter suffering and pain. (Text was Ps. 31:1-5. Awesome awesome Psalm). And, honestly, I have to say that this has been one of my most intense struggles. If you didn't know, my family has been through a lot this past year, and my parents will be divorced by this weekend. Yeah. And that got me thinking...

In the Psalm Richard used, David asked God to be his Rock and his Strong Fortress. And as I look back, I realize how many times I used my family as my rock. When I was in trouble, disoriented, afraid, I could always find my way back to where I wanted to be by relying on my family. I realize now that this was making my family an idol.

But anyway... How difficult is it to make this song true of our lives? In either circumstance, really...

When we're having hard times, it's hard to praise God. We want to blame Him for our pain. And when I say that, it sounds silly. Ridiculous, honestly. Why on EARTH would we place blame with the One who loves us more than anyone else ever could? It's so easy to be ridiculous, it seems. Why on earth do the things that honestly make the most sense seem so difficult to swallow?

But it's also really hard "when the world's all as it should be" to give God the praise and glory. We kind of settle into our complacency, not realizing that our need for God is just as great in our joy as in our sorrow. It's easiest for me to worship God at the end of a major struggle. But once all is well and good again, I go back to, "I'm OK."

And I'm not.

I'm never OK.

None of us is ever OK.

I long for a day when my pain and sorrow as well as my joy and dancing will both be covered in the words, "Blessed be the name of the Lord."

Yeah. Sweet.