“I am Listening… My Fear Doesn’t Stand a Chance”

Sisters and Brothers,

Have you ever had a song that won’t get out of your head? I remember when I was young, randomly someone would start singing “The Song that Never Ends.” It only took the first couple of words and my brain would come back to that song for at least the rest of the day. Now, it seems as though Disney songs get stuck in my head as I listen to “Let it Go,” “Hakuna Matata,” or “Show Yourself.” My Disney loving kids have to listen to those songs on repeat. I find that I start singing them in the middle of writing a sermon, a Zoom call, or whatever else I am doing.

During the last month though, I have had a different song stuck in my head. It is the worship song “Stand in Your Love,” by Bethel Music and Josh Baldwin. I play it on repeat over and over again. “My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love.” It keeps playing in my head. I wake up in the middle of the night singing this song. I belt it out at the dinner table. I sing it while I am getting ready or playing with the kids or… really all the time. “My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love.”

After a good two weeks of it playing in my head, I felt like Samuel in the middle of the night hearing a voice saying, “Samuel! Samuel!” Every time he heard the voice, he got up and ran to Eli to ask why he called him. Eli would reply, “I didn’t call you. Go to bed.” Finally, after the third time, Eli said, “It is the voice of God. Ask God what God is trying to say.” The next time he heard it, “Samuel! Samuel!” He replied, “Speak, for your servant is listening.” I finally surrendered to God too. “Speak, I am listening.”

I would like to say that I know exactly what God is saying to me through this song but I don’t. God is still working something out in me with this song. It takes silence. It takes listening. It takes time.

Maybe you are in a similar boat right now. God is trying to speak something to you but your head and heart aren’t figuring it out. That’s ok. Keep at it. Keep listening. Keep still long enough for God to move you. Keep trying to discern the voice of God.

God is on the move in the world right now. I can feel it. “My fear doesn’t stand a chance when I stand in your love.”

Grace and Love,
+Pastor Laura