Yet, I Will Praise
I was listening to a Steven Curtis Chapman song yesterday on my iTunes. The song is on his latest project released in 2022. It’s no secret that I am a huge fan of Steven Curtis’s music. His style and guitar-playing ability have always been something that fascinated me. But the lyrics that he writes are what hold me.
The song that captured me yesterday is Still. The premise of the song is that life is a journey. Filled with ups and downs. Highs and lows. From one extreme to the other. We all know that. If we have breath in our lungs, which means we are still alive, we have experienced both triumph and tragedy. As Wide World of Sportsproclaimed in 1974, we all at least on some level, have faced the “Thrill of victory and the agony of defeat.”
In moments of triumph, it’s easy to praise God. But what about the moments of defeat?
Some of the lyrics in Still, (speaking about life) are, “It’s been beautiful and terrible, more painful, more wonderful than I ever could have known.” We know that don’t we? We all have experienced beauty and pain. Sometimes simultaneously. Like with the birth of a child.
When life gets terrible, are you still able to praise Him? The next line in the song states, “Still, I’m gonna sing about the One who’s given life to me. His love is unchanging, His grace is amazing still.”
It reminded me of the Old Testament Prophet Habakkuk. In Habakkuk 1, the prophet sees all the terrible injustice happening to God’s people, and he cries out to God. He basically questions God on why He is allowing this to happen and when will He fix it. God initially does not give Habakkuk an answer. Then when God does answer, the answer doesn’t really make sense. Yet, in chapter 3, Habakkuk writes these words, “Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation.” (3:17-18 ESV)
Admittedly, I have not been through some major trials like others that I know have. Sure, there are bumps on the road of life. There always are. But if I ever do go through something that I could only describe as horrible, I pray that I will have the faith of Habakkuk.
Nothing that is happening is making sense, still…I’m gonna praise God!
At least that’s my prayer.
