Be Still, My Soul...

 It's no secret that I have come full circle to be a proper hymn-lover in my adult years. (I'm still a little at odds with Crown Him with Many Crowns after singing it the same week I had to get a crown, but other than that, I'm a hymn girl. Ha!)

Ryan and I love listening to them and will often turn on a YouTube channel of piano hymns as we get ready for church on Sunday mornings. I can't possibly pick favorites, because there are just too many I love. 

Yesterday I ran across the lyrics to Be Still, My Soul while reading a blog post, and it sent me straight to my favorite rendition of that song, which is this one by Selah. (This song was from the original group, and Nicol Sponberg has the solo. Her voice is pure gold.)

The verse of the song that I read on the blog isn't in Selah's rendition, but maybe you need the words today, so I'm going to share them:

Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake
To guide the future, as He has the past.
Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know
His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.

The ladies of WillowBridge always read YouVersion devo plans together, and not long ago, one of the devos we read talked about the importance of keeping journals of God's work in our lives so we can remember His goodness to us personally. Of course, that thrilled my heart, and I tried to encourage the others to take that seriously! Trusting God to guide the future as He has the past can sometimes go a little more smoothly when you are able to remember how He has been at work in YOUR past, rather than history at large.

And those last two lines are my favorite: Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below. 

I follow a few Instagram accounts of people who live on the Great Lakes, and their photos and videos of winter waves crashing against the shore are so awe-inspiring. And those are just the Great Lakes! How much more impressive is the strength of the ocean! And yet those are the very kinds of waves His voice stilled!

We're definitely in a season where it's easy to have a soul that is agitated rather than stilled. So much is happening in so many areas, and it's hard to be still. But the same God who guided the past is here for our future, too. We may not understand, but we can trust Him. He's proven trustworthy. 

The waves and winds are still blowing, yes. But they also still know His voice and power. I know I am grateful for it. And if you're wrestling in your heart today, I hope those lyrics encourage you too!