Ribbit!

The other day I snuck into My Hiding Place (see last week’s post, Safer than a Glass Box) and I asked the LORD how He sees me. As I closed my eyes in prayer I saw a picture of (don’t laugh) a frog. I thought “Oh, great… of all things. Couldn’t He see me as a princess or a beautiful child or a valiant warrior or something lovely or powerful? But then I heard Him whisper to my heart-- “You sing in the night, like My frogs.”

I like that. This is what I am doing here in this blog. I may not make the most beautiful sound, but I am singing out as a sign of life in the pitch blackness. If anyone out there is feeling hopeless or discouraged, I hope that it encourages you to know that you are not alone in your heartache. There is someone else here in the mud with you and I’m croaking out my song with all my heart. It goes like this… 

“Jesus is faithful. He loves you and He is enough to carry 

your heart every day through whatever you are facing.”

My father has a cabin way out in the sticks of Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, and on many a trip up there we would make a nighttime visit to the frog pond. Upon arrival we would be told “Shhhh… turn off all the lights and don’t make a sound.” And then we would hear them… not just one frog, but a whole chorus. For such tiny creatures, together they were croaking out a symphony that was overpowering. In the middle of that wild and scary darkness there was singing coming from every direction.

So I guess what I am trying to say is… go ahead and sing out the encouragement God gives you. Don’t be afraid to share your story. Let’s make a beautiful ruckus in the middle of the night, and let the world know that there is life here. Because apart from Jesus, people don’t know that it’s possible to sing in the dark.

When we share God’s Word with each other, we build each other’s faith. Romans 10:17 says “So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.”

It says in Hebrews 11:30 “By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been encircled for seven days.” Do you ever feel like any of your adult children have thick, impenetrable walls separating them from God and from you? Take heart! There was no sign of movement at all in the walls of Jericho until suddenly God brought them down. And He did it, not by human strength (or by a parent having the right skills or answers or advice). He did it “By faith”.  I want to be the best parent I can be, but the miracles I am waiting for will come only one way… by God’s grace through faith. And faith is not something I can muster up. It’s a gift God gives through the hearing of His Word. And through croaking it out! The more we hear and speak out the truths of God’s words, the more our faith grows.

  

Is there a song you could sing out today? Maybe you would like to share a line or two of your song here in the comments of this blog.