When I Look At You...

I don't talk about my faith very much, but it's a huge part of who I am. I was raised in a very conservative Christian family. I've been able to quote scripture like the back of my hand since I was young. Over the last couple of years my relationship with Christ has become more personal and deeper than anything I could even begin to explain. Up until a few months ago I always saw God as this figure that I could never get close to, someone who's expectations & rules I could never live up to. The more I read and studied on my own, the more I found a God completely different from this, one that wanted to love me for ME! Yes, he wants me to live by his word, but he doesn't make it impossible to do that. I can still live the life I want and not feel like I can never be good enough.



This song has become one of my favorites over the last few weeks. The more I listen to it and think about it, the more I can see all kinds of Bible references and allusions in it. It's made me think of life lessons that I completely forgot that I knew. It's gonna be kinda long, but I wanna share those lessons with you guys, so bear with me.

Everybody needs inspiration,
Everybody needs a song.
A beautiful melody,
When the night's so long.

This couldn't be more true. So many times inspiration can come from one simple song. That one song can get a person through so many rough situations in life. I have an entire list of songs that I could apply here, but songs aren't always sung. Your "song" might be a role model or mentor that said something to you that has put you on the path you're on today. It could be a quote that has completely changed your life, or it could be your faith. Whatever it is, it's the one thing that gets you through those rough times in life.

Cause there is no guarantee,
That this life is easy.
God never promised me a perfect life; one without speed bumps and curve balls. He did promise me that he would never give me a challenge I couldn't handle:

No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it. I Corinthians 10:13

For every challenge God brings into my life, he has promised a way to get out of it, a way of escape! God NEVER leaves you stranded, lost, or confused. The only reason people get so lost, stranded, or confused is because they don't take time to ask for God's guidance, to have him there with them every step of the way. Sometimes the things we want, hope, and pray for aren't the things we need. We need to recognize that everything happens for a reason. We may not always know that reason at the time that the event is happening, but the struggles and trials can only make us stronger.

And when my world is falling apart.
When there's no light to break up the dark,
That's when I look at you.

Jesus answered, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6

Jesus is the ONLY way. He is my light in a world so full of darkness. Everything great and good in my life is a gift from God and I thank him daily for that. The older I get the more I see all the ways my life could have gone wrong and I'm so thankful that I had Jesus in my life to keep me on the right path and away from all darkness. At the age of 20 I'm so happy to be able to say that I've never smoked, drank, done drugs...any of those things that would associate me with darkness and pull me away from God.

When the waves are flooding the shore,

When I heard this verse, I immediately thought of the story about Peter and Jesus. (Matt 14:22-33) Jesus had his disciples take him to an isolated location so he could pray. By the time he came back to the shore, the boat was in the middle of the sea. Jesus began walking towards them, ON THE WATER! His disciples were afraid and mistook him for a ghost. He spoke to them and told them not to be afraid. Peter needed proof. If it was really Jesus, then he would be able to make Peter walk on the water just as he was. Peter was able to, until he became afraid, then he began to sink. Jesus saved him, but asked why he doubted. In other words, why did Peter not believe he could make it?

I think sometimes we do the same thing. We have so much faith in whatever we're doing, whether it's work, school, or a goal we're working towards. We'll start off strong and so full of faith that we think anything is possible. Suddenly, something will happen: a road block, a speed bump, a curve ball will be given to us and we get afraid. We loose faith that whatever we're working on will never get accomplished so we give up. We quit trying. YOU CAN'T DO THAT! No matter what happens, continue to have faith! Don't doubt! Doubt brings so much fear and uncertainty with it. That can lead you down a very dark and winding road. It can make you feel lost and hopeless. With faith and hope, you can accomplish the most AMAZING things!

and I can't find my way home anymore.
That's when I look at you.

Luke 15:11-31 tells the story of the prodigal son. The son was just like any other rebellious teenager. He thought that if he had his inheritance and got away from mom & dad his life would be so much better. Like most kids though, he got caught up in the wrong crowd that took him away from everything he had been taught. It wasn't until he hit rock bottom and was sleeping & eating with the pigs that he realized just how good his life had been and how much he needed his parents to help him. When his father sees him returning he immediately sets the house to prepare for his sons arrival, fixing the best food and throwing a huge party. He doesn't yell at him for what he's done, but welcomes him with open arms.

A lot of times, we are the prodigal son. We think we can just take take take from God and leave him and our lives are so much better. He just sits back and lets us play things out for ourselves. He never pushes or persuades us to come back to him. Sure, he misses us and wants us to do the right thing by following him and doing his will, but the great thing about God is that he gave us our own free will. He gave us the CHOICE! That's powerful! He's not demanding that we follow him like most leaders would, but he gives us the CHOICE!

A lot of times we only think of God when we hit absolute rock bottom, when we think things can't get any worse than they are at that point. We forget to thank him we life is good. So many people want to turn to him when life is bad and then completely forget that he exists when their life is going good. Just like the father in the story though, he's waiting for us to come back to him, to apologize and promise to do better. Jesus doesn't ask questions or look for a reason behind why we left him, but rejoices when we turn to him in all of life's situations.

When I look at you,
I see forgiveness,

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace Ephesians 1:7

God is so forgiving! He's not looking for us to be perfect. In fact, he knows we're going to mess up, that's why he sent Jesus to die for our sins, to provide an avenue for us to ask forgiveness and be able to start over fresh. We're human, and there is no way we could be perfect. Sometimes you may think you're living life exactly how you think you should be, and that's great, but it's not always the things you can see that can cause you to stumble. Sometimes it's the small things that you don't even realize that you've done that can cause the most problems. Always remember that God is ready and willing to forgive, no matter what you've done. All he wants is for you to realize that you need him in your life.

I see the truth.

When I look at God, the Bible, any kind of studying, I see nothing but truth. God CANNOT lie!!

in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, Titus 1:2

that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. Hebrews 6:18

In a world full of crooks, cons, and liars, how great is it to know that there is someone out there that will NEVER lie to me! What God says, he means. When he tells me he loves me, but I have to follow his commands, he's not just saying that because he feels like it. No matter what he says, he only speaks the truth. When it seems like the rest of the world is only telling me what I want to hear, or not telling me anything at all, I know that when I turn to God he tells me like it is, even if it hurts.

You love me for who I am,
Like the stars hold the moon,

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look at his appearance or at his physical stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees; for man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” I Samuel 16:7

Wow...what a powerful statement. God doesn't look at my outward appearance, but at my HEART! He looks past the hair, the face, the eye color, all the flaws I see in myself, straight into my soul and my being! In a world so obsessed with appearance, it's amazing to know that none of that matters to God. I don't have to be a tall, skinny, blond, with blue eyes to be his child, all I have to be is me.

Right there where they belong.
and I know I'm not alone.

teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen. Matthew 28:20

With God, I am never alone. One of the worst problems I've had to face in my life is having people who said that they loved me, completely change their minds, and say that they don't love me anymore and walk right out of my life and not ONCE look back. God has never walked out on me, nor will he ever walk out on me. He is the one person who has been there no matter what. If anything, it's us that walk out on God. Even then, he still loves us and wants to be there for us, all we have to do is let him

Repeat Chorus

You, appear just like a dream to me.
Just like kaleidoscope colors,

Dreams are a huge deal when it comes to the Bible and one of the most important "characters" to have dreams was Joseph. Genesis chapters 37-50 tell the story of Joseph, how he was the favorite of his father and hated by his brothers. He was sold into Egyptian slavery where he worked his way up from a nobody to become one of the Pharaoh's most trusted advisers. With this position came great responsibility. Pharaoh trusted him with his household affairs, including his wife. If you read the story, you'll see that Pharaoh's wife was very taken with Joseph and tried to get him to enter into an adulterous relationship with her. He could have done that, but he didn't! He ran away!

Our choices and dreams are powerful things that need to be handled with care. What we do becomes who we are and what we stand for. What choices are you making? Are they ones that the consequences of you could live with for the rest of your life? When life gets hard and you're being pressured to do something or be somebody, remember Joseph, how he ran away, because he couldn't do that to the people who relied on him, who looked up to him, but more importantly, he couldn't do that to God.

That cover me,
All I need,
Every breath that I breathe,
Don't you know you're beautiful!

God covers me, is all I need, and is in every breath that I take. He covers me and protects me when I need someone to turn to. He is the one person in my life who has never walked out on me, who's love has never ceased, who, no matter how bad I screw up, is ready and willing to welcome me with open arms. He is all I need because without him I am nothing. He's in every breath I breath. He is beautiful and wonderful and beyond amazing. I'm so thankful that he was willing to give up his Son, to see him suffer, bleed, and die, so that I can live this wonderful, amazing, beautiful life and feel the peace that knowing him brings.

Yeah
Repeat Chorus
You, appear just like a dream to me.

I hope you guys got something out of that. I know it really inspired me. I hope you all have an amazing week. You are all loved and blessed, don't ever forget that.

Be sure to check back here on Friday or Saturday. I'm starting a new weekly thing where I profile one up and coming or small artist/band. If you are an artist/band that would like some exposure hit up my twitter, leave a comment, or email me. I'm a writer looking for exposure so maybe it'll be a win win situation. This week's artist is Never Shout Never's Christofer Drew. So, be sure to check back for that. I hope this is a huge success with all of you because writing about music and introducing you guys to something new is what I live for. It's my dream and I'm finally going to chase it.

<3 Jen