a song our experience won't outgrow

Some weeks ago, on a Friday off work, I went with Liz and our granddaughter, Isla, to ‘Bookbug’ at our local library. For 30 minutes I was plunged into the world of toddler’s songs and stories! Isla even asked the organiser to sing one of her favourites - ‘Row, Row, Row the Boat’. On her way there and back she did the actions to the songs and tried to sing the words. This is her world and she is so happy to be part of it. However, I can’t imagine Isla walking to high school as a teenager singing, ‘Hello Everyone’ or ‘See the Little Bunnies’! It’s more likely to the 2030s version of Taylor Swift! In that day she will have long outgrown these ‘Super Simple Songs’ (a Spotify playlist!). 

In recent days I’ve found a song in God’s Word that our experience will not outgrow. It appears three times on the pages of the Old Testament and captures the unfolding story of God’s commitment to, and guidance of, his people.  

It appears first in the book of Exodus as, fresh from their deliverance from Egypt, Moses sings, “The Lord is my strength and song; he has become my salvation” (Exodus 15:2). Undoubtably, this is THE defining moment in Israel’s history when they were redeemed by God from slavery in Egypt. And this act of redemption has become the central motif for God’s people ever since. We are “redeemed…with the precious blood of Christ” (1 Peter 1:19).

The experience of the Israelites is a reminder of what God has done for his people in the past. He has saved us. “It is by grace you have been saved…” (Ephesians 2:8) We are saved from the penalty of sin.

The second time this sentence appears in Scripture is in Psalm 118. “The Lord is my strength and song; he has become my salvation” (Psalm 118:14). It is written by a follower of God and captures a sense of what it mean to live for God in the stuff of life. This account of David is a reminder of what God does for his people in the present. He saves us. “The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God” (1 Cor. 1:18). He saves us from the power of sin.

The final time this sentence appears is in the prophecy of Isaiah. "The LORD, the LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation" (Isaiah 12:2). Isaiah writes in the future tense and anticipates the coming kingdom of God. And this record of Isaiah affirms what God will do for his people in the future. He will save us. “…our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed” (Romans 13:11). He will save us from the presence of sin. 

“The Lord is my strength and song; he has become my salvation”.

Past…

…Present… 

…Future…

Saved…

…Being saved…

…Will be saved… 

Here is a song that our experience will not outgrow. 

What God was when we first trusted him, 

he is today as we walk with him 

and he will be on into eternity. 

Our Strength. Our Song. Our Saviour.

(Picture - Loch Leven and the Pap of Glencoe)

job interview

 I’m sure at one point or another each of us has wondered what it would be like to sit down with a person in history and chat to them about their life and times.

Who would you like to converse with?

Over the past couple of weeks I’ve imagined what it would be like to meet with Job over a cup of coffee (has to be a Flat White!) and ask him to reflect on his life experience.

Here’s what I saw of that conversation in my mind’s eye…

Me. I get the sense from reading your book that family was a deeply important part of your life. As you look back over your early journey, what values mattered most to you around the home you were building?

Job. When I recollect those precious years watching my family grow up, one thing stood out. I describe it in the following way, “God’s intimate friendship blessed my house” (1). I had a very strong sense that I was in the slipstream of his plan for my life. Marriage was his design and my children were the gracious gift from that union. 

More than anything I longed that my children would follow God’s purpose for their lives. I often rose early in the morning with the sole intention of committing them into God’s hands and asking him that there would never be a time when they did not walk with him (2). That’s why my heart was so utterly broken when they were wrenched out of my life.  

Me. I won’t pretend that I can in anyway understand the crushing loss you experienced. How do you look back on those desolate times?

Job. The pain was unimaginable. The truth is that I could barely function. The veil of suffering was so heavy upon me that I lay down in utter desolation under a suffocating cloak of deep darkness. 

Me. It seems to me that there were times when you got very close to saying, “I tried to be a good person but what good did it do me”. However, you never quite got to that point. What drew you back from going there?

Job. Put simply tiny shafts of light would on occasions pierce the inky blackness of my circumstances. Somehow in those moments I knew that God knew…and that brought me glimmers of hope (3).

Something else happened that I cannot fully explain or clearly articulate. This also gave me reason to hope. In the shadows I sensed the coming of Someone who would vindicate and restore me. It almost seemed that God himself would step into my world. Can you imagine how remarkable that would be? I sensed that this One would listen to my cries of abandonment and bring a level of comfort that I so desperately longed for (4).

Me. The wonderful truth is that you emerged from the dark tunnel of suffering into bright light of day. I expect that it took a while for your eyes to focus again. When they did, what did you see?

Job. It was actually more what I heard! Having lived so long in season when God was silent (5), how my heart was lifted when I eventually heard God speak…And speak to me! (6). Over period of around 12 minutes he took me on a virtual tour of the universe. I will never forget the illuminating truths that unfolded as he gave his perspective on the world that I live in; its balance, its order, its wonder (7). God spoke and I fell silent. All my protestations were put to one side for a moment as the majesty of God’s character filled my horizons.

Me. That must have been a truly remarkable time. However, it doesn’t appear that God answered the question that dominated much of your thinking, “Why?”

Job. Well, no, that much is true. If I’m honest that thought still enters my mind at times. However, something deeper and more profound happened as God led me across the highest heavens and plunged me into the deepest depths of the oceans. I realised that I had spoken without knowledge. I was uttering mysteries that no human can ever truly fathom. My goal moving forward is to live by faith believing in a bigger and better story for my life. I say this because my encounter with God led me from mere head knowledge about him into a deep experiential experience of his presence in my life (8). 

Me. Thank you for sharing those insights. As you look back over your long journey are you able sum up in a short sentence what you have learned?

Job. I once described it like this, “God knows the way that I take” (9) I know that God knows! He knowledge is infinite (10). His ability to redeem is boundless (11) and his love is eternal (12).

1. Job 29:4

2. Job 1:5

3. Job 23:10

4. Job 19:25

5. Job 30:20

6. Job 38:1

7. Job 38-41

8. Job 42:5

9. Job 23:10

10. Job 42:1-3

11. Job 19:25

12. Job 29:4

As I listen to this song I think about Job…