Life

Living By Faith

/ Gail Johnson / 8 Comments

What does living by faith look like to you? To James Wells and R.E. Winsett, it meant living a worry-free life. He wasn’t suggesting we walk around with our heads in the clouds, ignoring life. He was telling us to rest in the peace granted to us through the work of Jesus Christ.

The Authors

James Wells (1872-1947) wrote the first three verses of this hymn. He was a poet, newspaper columnist, and hymnist. I couldn’t find much about his life except he was the son of Chauncey Wells and Susannah Freer, and he authored sixty-four hymns.

Robert Emmett Winsett (1876-1952) wrote the fourth verse. He was a prolific writer and publisher. He published the hymnal Best of All in 1952 and sold 600,000 upon its release. The hymn “Jesus is Coming Soon” became the Song of the Year in 1969. In 2002, Winsett was inducted into the Southern Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

When I find an author who has written several of my favorite songs, I feel like I’ve found a friend. R.E. Winsett is one of those writers. I have heard the following songs all my life. The words have blessed me countless times.

Wayfaring Stranger

His Blood is on My Soul

Will You Meet Me Over Yonder?

Lift Me Up Above the Shadows

When My Savior Reached Down for Me

Jesus Is Coming Soon

The Song

I care not today what the morrow may bring,
If shadow or sunshine or rain,
The Lord I know ruleth o’re everything,
And all of my worry is vain.

Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you (1 Peter 5:7 KJV)

Be careful (anxious) for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7 KJV).

Like the hymnist, Paul is not suggesting we dismiss genuine concerns. He points us to a way to live worry-free: praying about everything.

Shall keep means to guard. The Philippians were used to seeing Roman soldiers standing guard in Philippi. They would understand Paul’s meaning. God’s peace standing guard at the door of our minds is reassuring!

Living by faith in Jesus above,
Trusting, confiding in His great love;
From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,
O, I’m living by faith and I feel no alarm.

In the chorus, the writers tell us how to live by faith:

Trusting
Confiding
Resting

Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise,
Obscuring the brightness of life,
I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies,
The Master looks on at the strife.

Notice the writer tells his reader the tempests will blow. No ifs about that.

The LORD looketh from heaven; he beholdeth all the sons of men (Psalm 33:13 KJV). 

Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy (Psalm 33:18 KJV). 

I know that He safely will carry me through,
No matter what evils betide,
Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,
If Jesus walks close to my side.

We will face spiritual rivers, fires, and flames through the hardships of life. But we shouldn’t be overcome with care. There’s a better way. Lean into His promises!

When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: when thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; neither shall the flame kindle upon thee (Isaiah 43:2 KJV).

Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee (Psalm 33:20-22 KJV). 

Our Lord will return to this earth some sweet day
Our troubles will then all be o’er
The Master so gently will lead us away
Beyond that blest heavenly shore

For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words (1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 KJV). 

What a glorious thought!

Fiction Forward

/ Gail Johnson / 8 Comments

At the end of The Secret Keeper by Sandra Byrd, there is an author Q&A. I asked permission to share the writing question and answer in this post. I hope it encourages you to follow your dreams.

The Question

If you had one piece of advice to give to an aspiring writer, what would it be?

The Answer

I’d echo author Jane Kirkpatrick, whose work I admire:

My best advice is to silence the harpies, those negative voices that say, “who told you that you could write?” or “what makes you think your book will get published?” Just write the story of your heart and put duct tape on those harpies.

Sometimes the harpies are inside your head, sometimes they’re other people. Find people who will nurture both you and your story, who help you protect your talent all the while insisting that you grow in your craft. And trust yourself. ~ Sandra Byrd, author and writing coach

This and That

/ Gail Johnson / 8 Comments 
Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing
I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth
unto those things which are before. (Philippians 3:13)

Can you believe we’re in the second month of the new year?

What have you been up to, my friend?

I’ve been praying for a study I could sink my teeth into. Not just a sweet morsel or a piece of fluff but a thick juicy piece of meat to spark my synapses and grow my spirit kind of study.

But until recently, I had been so busy with life—and its heartaches—I didn’t have the time or the chance to be alone. So, I am thankful for last month’s opportunity to settle in and grow in understanding. To reach for a “that” and make it a “this.”

The idea of “this” and “that” has been with me for over 30 years after hearing a message. I can’t remember everything the minister said except “this” and “that” is necessary to move forward. The Lord has brought me back to the idea many times to help me understand the seasons in my life.

So what is the point behind this and that? I’m so glad you asked!

A “that” is the next step in our spiritual journey. The next victory we’re believing for—and expecting—God to give us. It is the answer to our petitions if we pray for God’s will.

And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: and if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him. (1 John 5:14-15 KJV)

Notice John said, “according to his will.” That should be the pattern for our prayer life. It isn’t a name-it-and-claim-it lifestyle. It’s a sold-out-I-surrender-all-not-my-will-but-Yours-be-done lifestyle. Without that mindset and faith, we will never turn a “this” into a “that.”

This and That

When speaking of this and that, we could also say here and there. This being here. That being there.

A “this” is a truth we possess. It is what we know. Our comfort zone.

A “that” is what we’ve yet to achieve. It is the invisible in our lives waiting to be discovered.

Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. (Hebrews 11:1)

In the opening scripture above, Paul forgets those things behind him and reaches for things before because he wants his life to become the story of Jesus. “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead.”

To be like Jesus.

We can’t know the overflowing power of his resurrection unless we daily conform to his death. Do we want to know the fellowship of his sufferings? Hard question, I know. Yet Paul was in prison for his beliefs. He did not complain. Instead, he penned letters to encourage the believers.

Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend “that” for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended… (v. 12 parentheses added)

Wow! When I think of what Paul had been through, what he had done for the Lord, it’s hard to imagine him saying there is more.

…but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. (v. 13)

Paul knew there was more, and he wanted it.

Like Paul, we are apprehended to bring glory to the Father through Christ the Son. To be a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to Him. An obedient servant doing the will of God our Father.

In this new year, will you remain in your comfort zone or press into the unknown to apprehend even more of Him? To trade a “this” for His “that.”

Before you answer, did you notice the picture? THAT looks bigger than THIS. But it’s not. The font on THAT is 42 percent. The font on THIS is 50 percent. Often, our present THIS looks smaller than our future THAT, making our task seem almost impossible. But God is always with us. Cross that bridge of faith, my friend, and claim all the spiritual blessings He has for you!

Prayer

Father, may we press toward the mark and claim by faith that which you are calling us to. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen