Robert Lowery

A few days ago I had what I call a Deuteronomy 28:66-67 moment:

Your life shall hang in doubt before you. Night and day you shall be in dread, and have no assurance of your life. In the morning you shall say, ‘If only it were evening!’ and at evening, you shall say, ‘If only it were morning!’ because of the dread that your heart shall feel, and the sights that your heart shall feel.

I tip my hat to the context: God is warning Israel about what will happen if the nation is not faithful to the covenant. But on this particular day, I applied the two verses to my life.

It had been a rough day. One of my friends had been wounded, and I did not know what to say or do. Ministry is like that on occasion. I was down about my physical and spiritual struggles. The night did not bring peace whatsoever. The Tempter stole his way into our house. I was alone, and I was overwhelmed by anxiety, frustration, and anger. So I got up out of bed and began cleaning—dusting, running the sweeper, putting things away, even doing a load of laundry. And I was still restless.

Around 1:45 I decided to listen once again to Northern Ireland’s Robin Mark. His newest recording is entitled Year of Grace and it is marvelous. One song especially brought comfort, “All is Well” (listen to the song on YouTube):

He lowers us to raise us
So we can sing his praises
Whatever is His way all is well
He makes us rich and poor
That we might trust Him more
Whatever is His way all is well
All my changes come from Him, He who never changes
I’m held firm in the grasp of the Rock of all the ages
All is well with my soul
He is God in control
I know not all his plans
But I know I’m in His hands
He clothes us now then strips us
Yet with His Word equips us
Whatever is His way all is well
And though our seasons change
We still exalt His name
Whatever is His way all is well

Some put their hope in chariots and princes. Others put their hope in the wisdom of oncologists, the cathedrals we call hospitals, and the nourishment we find in the latest medications. God can certainly use all these to bring healing. But they are worthless without faithful praying and hopeful living. Ultimately, I must place my faith in Jesus.

And so after listening to Robin Mark I went back to bed, prayed some, cried some, and remembered some, and then I fell asleep in Jesus. But the last song I thought of before I closed my eyes was a psalm that Jesus sang at the end of the Passover Meal as he was heading to the garden: I shall not die, but I shall live and recount the deeds of the Lord. The Lord has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. . . . This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it (Psalm 118:17-18,24).

Related posts:

1. 1:45 in the Morning with Robin Mark