Blessings: What if trials of this life are just mercies in disguise?
This Sunday, Elvira and Caleb presented this song for offertory entitled 'Blessings' by Laura Story. The song describes a raw and and authentic struggle of the Christian through ups and downs of trusting God, even through trials and tribulations.
In the Scripture, we are reminded that, "Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing." (Jas 1:2-4)
Or again in Rom 5:3-5, "through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."
In this recent article about Laura Story, we learn that "...there’s no denying some of the blessings in Laura Story’s life. She wrote the No. 1 worship hit “Indescribable” recorded in 2004 by Chris Tomlin, married a handsome athlete named Martin Elvington the next year, and began working in music and women’s ministry at the 4,000-member Perimeter Church in Atlanta. After signing an artist deal with the INO Records, her 2008 national debut Great God Who Saves, won a Dove Award for Inspirational Album and earned Laura two consecutive nominations for Female Vocalist of the Year—all blessings, indeed.
But amidst that success a brain tumor hospitalized her husband in 2006. The faith Story sang about was put through the unexpected fires of fear and loneliness. Most young newlyweds don’t imagine being kept alive at one point by breathing machines or having to find their way through significant post-operative vision and memory loss. Could grace notes resound from such a life-altering struggle?"
Verse 1: We pray for blessings, we pray for peace
Comfort for family, protection while we sleep
We pray for healing, for prosperity
We pray for Your mighty hand to ease our sufferingAll the while You hear each spoken need
Yet love us way too much to give us lesser thingsChorus: 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
What if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?What if trials of this life
Are Your mercies in disguise?Verse 2: We pray for wisdom, Your voice to hear
We cry in anger when we cannot feel You near
We doubt Your goodness, we doubt Your love
As if every promise from Your Word is not enoughAnd all the while You hear each desperate plea
And long that we'd have faith to believeBridge: When friends betray us, when darkness seems to win
We know that pain reminds this heart
That this is not, this is not our home
It's not our homeFinal Chorus: 'Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops
What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights
Are what it takes to know You're near?What if my greatest disappointments
Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst
This world can't satisfy?And what if trials of this life
The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
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