"Let The Glory of the Lord Rise Among Us" Cause It's Sunday Y'all!

I could hear the song as soon as I was out of the car (thanks Ms. Gerald, for the ride). Sherika Eskridge was leading the praise team in "Let it Rise," by William Murphy. After hugging the two greeters in the lobby, I entered the sanctuary this morning for the first time for a Sunday service in months. And let me tell ya y'all, the girl can sang. I ain't mad at her at all. And I like the song. It has a good melody and a good beat.

But what I like most is that the song indicates you have to make a decision. God wants to rise in us, but we have to decide to let him. And that's the case with so many things in our lives. God wants to fix it for us, we just gotta decide to let him. So, here's what I hear first coming into the church.

Plus, Sherika and the praise team just sound plain ol' good singing the song. Our church musicians ain't no people you wanna sleep on either. Especially my little cousin on the drums.





Then Donnie Thurman, Jr sang "You Are Good," by Israel and New Breed.




After those two songs, my body wasn't exactly feeling up to speed, my spirit felt like pure gold.

Now, Pastor Smith preached about the fact that "Jesus is the God of my Storm." Which is to say, whenever you're going through something, God is still in control. The passage he came from was Matthew 14:22-27. Whenever you going through a problem or a bad situation, you need to "Look for Jesus." And if you think you see him but you're not sure, then"Listen to/for Jesus." Once you've identified Him, "Lean on Jesus." And finally, when it's all said and done, "Learn from Jesus."

Now of course, if you read the scripture and/or had heard the sermon, it makes perfect sense. But, I'll give my own testimony. Why? Because this is my blog and I can.

My favorite part of the scripture is that Paul walked out on water with Jesus. Which to me means, even in the midst of the storm, with God, we can still do the impossible. If you've read this blog regularly and know me personally, you know I've had chronic fatigue and immune dysfunction syndrome for the past 5 years. But even through the condition, I can still do something impossible. That brings joy and strength to my soul.

And that's what I've decided to do. I've decide to let God rise in me, to do something impossible. And I guess unless you know the Lord yourself, you may not understand, but the joy and comfort and relief of knowing God is with me through all things; and, that his power and anointing don't just up and leave because I'm in a tough situation causes my Spirit to overcome my broken body. In fact, the weaker I become, the stronger the Lord gets. Hallelujah! And Hallelujah! And Hallelujah! Praise the Lord! And let his glory rise among us!

In fact, the weaker I become, the stronger I get (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). And I'm determined to rescue the sheep that have been marked for slaughter (Zechariah 11:4). I'm tempted to talk junk to the enemy, because the truth of the matter is, no there's nothing that can happen that can stop me (Isaiah 54:17).

I'm going to change the world. I'm going to liberate those who have been oppressed. And I'm not just talking about my usual diatribes against racism. I'm not just talking about sexism. But something's gotta be done about capitalism and poverty and war. And I'm bound and determined to do it. I just can't see myself doing anything else. That's what I feel, and I just can't help it.

As the Lord says, "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it" (Habakkuk 2:2). In the middle of my storm, I'm going to walk on water to. Just watch and see.