Isaiah 61:10 NLT
I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me
with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am
like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels.
In
the sermon this past Sunday morning I referred to a current song playing on
Christian radio stations that has caught my attention. The song is “Overwhelmed” by the group Big Daddy Weave. I will share some of the lyrics with you at
the end of this post, but I would like to share some of my experiences with
you.
As a teenager there were several times when I encountered God, but two
of those times stick out for me. The
first was near a river in Arkansas when the Bible began to come alive to
me. It was there that I began to read
the Bible and understand some of the huge concepts of God’s grace and
love. The second place was another
retreat, but it was not the location. It
was the setting one evening of listening to people share their story of coming
to faith in God. That was a moving time
that I remember being overwhelmed by God.
Not long after I became a pastor I began to spend time with a man who
was a few years older than me. He and
his wife had a couple young kids. He
took me fishing with him. I hung out as
he worked on his farm. He would serve at
the church I was pastor of. Over that
year or so I remember the conversation and the change that was taking place in
his life as God moved. I was totally
overwhelmed by God’s work in his life.
After moving to Virginia I met some amazing people. One of those people was a lady battling
cancer. She accompanied our youth to an
event in Roanoke, and it was there that I sat talking about her faith and her
family. During one of the worship
services the music was incredible, the preaching was good, but spending that
time overwhelmed both of us at the goodness of God.
Please understand that I am not encouraging you or me to have more
experiences with God. Experiences are
not what the Christian life is all about.
It is about a relationship with the God who loves us so much. It is when we understand His love that we
will find ourselves overwhelmed by Him.
Those are precious experiences that spring from genuine love and faith.
I have been overwhelmed many, many times by God. I challenge you to seek Him so much in 2015
that you cannot help but be overwhelmed by our great and mighty God.
Here are the words to the song I mentioned:
"Overwhelmed"
I see the work of Your Hands
Galaxies spin in a Heavenly dance oh
God
All that You are is so overwhelming
I hear the sound of Your Voice
All at once it’s a gentle and
thundering noise oh God
All that You are is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
Captivated by Your beauty
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
I know the power of Your Cross
Forgiven and free forever You’ll be my
God
All that You’ve done is so overwhelming
I delight myself in You
In the Glory of Your Presence
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
God, I run into Your arms
Unashamed because of mercy
I’m overwhelmed, I’m overwhelmed by You
You are Beautiful, You are Beautiful
Oh God, there is no one more Beautiful
You are Beautiful, God you are the most
Beautiful
You are Wonderful, You are Wonderful
Oh God, there is no one more Wonderful
You are Wonderful, God You are the most
Wonderful
You are Glorious, You are Glorious
Oh God, there is no one more Glorious
You are Glorious, God you are the most
Glorious
Mark 9:15 NLT
When the crowd saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with awe, and they ran to
greet him.
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