- I have had the song "Farther Along" in my head literally since I woke up this morning... I've been singing it on and off all day long... though of course I've been singing the same verse over and over and over again... so I decided to look up the song and read the words... because I knew that if God had the song in my head all day, there must have been a reason for it. Read these words... I wrote a few comments in, but just think about them... How often do we ask "Why me?" or "Why not them?"?? I know I have said it a lot in the last few years... but ultimately, it's like I mentioned in my last post about not losing hope... I believe there is a wisdom and maturity in waiting until life is farther along to understand why things happen. Now I'm not saying that I am have that wisdom and maturity, but for me in many situations peace has come with wisdom and understanding... and that helps process pain, confusion, and frustration... read them and see what you think.
- Farther Along
- Tempted and tried, we’re oft made to wonder
Why it should be thus all the day long; {Why am I tempted all the time - it bothers me!}
While there are others living about us,
Never molested, though in the wrong. {Why doesn't it bother other people when they do wrong??}- Refrain:
Farther along we’ll know more about it,
Farther along we’ll understand why;
Cheer up, my brother, live in the sunshine,
We’ll understand it all by and by. {When it's time Kacey... you'll understand. In His time.}
- Refrain:
- Sometimes I wonder why I must suffer,
Go in the rain, the cold, and the snow, {Why me?}
When there are many living in comfort,
Giving no heed to all I can do. - Tempted and tried, how often we question
Why we must suffer year after year, {Why ME???}
Being accused by those of our loved ones,
E’en though we’ve walked in God’s holy fear. {Why do people think I do wrong when I fear the Lord which is the beginning of all knowledge (prov.1:7)??} - Often when death has taken our loved ones,
Leaving our home so lone and so drear,
Then do we wonder why others prosper, {WHHHHYY MEEE?? Better yet, why not that person living so wickedly?? ... seeing a trend here??}
Living so wicked year after year. - “Faithful till death,” saith our loving Master;
Short is our time to labor and wait;
Then will our toiling seem to be nothing,
When we shall pass the heavenly gate. {All this Why Me junk ain't gonna matter when you get to Heaven... our time on earth to wait is short, and when we get to Heaven, we will realize that.} - Soon we will see our dear, loving Savior,
Hear the last trumpet sound through the sky;
Then we will meet those gone on before us,
Then we shall know and understand why. {Ultimately, we will understand... it may come before Heaven, but you will get the answers to your questions one day, some day...}
It's definitely a "Why Me" song... but I think that is okay. I am in a time of learning right now and to be honest I think we as humans have to go through those "why me" moments in order to understand why He chose you for that task, that hardship, that loss... In some ways, we have to be selfish to become selfless... Now I have no biblical basis to that... but I think it is a realistic point. How can you know what it is to be selfless and give of yourself if you don't know what it is to take... and to only look out for yourself?
No matter where we are in life I think it is important to remember that aspect of growth, because to become the best you, you have to have been the worst you at some point in time. To become rich (in spirit, money, etc...) you have to have been poor. To become humble, you had to be haughty. To understand nice you have to understand mean... and I think this is a vital part of our development as humans and as Christians... you have to understand the importance of where you have been to comprehend the magnitude of where you are. Once again this can cover so many basis, from physical locations to attitude, to education, to relationships...
{Life is a journey, not a destination.}
Ralph Waldo EmersonI've always liked this quote... though frankly I didn't realize it was Emerson who said it. But I think it is exceedingly important to give credit to the journey. Because if not for the journey, the destination is not attainable. How do you go on vacation without getting on a plane? How to I get to the grocery without getting in my car? How can I reach the ultimate goal of serving my God and gaining His wisdom, without doing and learning... without developing and growing... They are mutually existent. One cannot be without the other. The entire song is about the journey of life... and the things within life that we don't understand... but as we learn that it is less about Why he chose ME to go through this horribly uncomfortable time and more about Why HE chose me (of all people) to go through experience during which I can learn and grow - that's when the perspective changes. God isn't putting us through these horrible and uncomfortable things as punishment (which in the song sounds like the intention at least in reference to the "wicked" people) but as ways to help us grow, to help us learn to trust Him more, to MAKE us depend on Him more... because ultimately we cannot get to our destination without Him. It simply isn't possible.
I know that farther along in life I will understand the things I don't today... but I'm so thankful for those things I have learned. The things I have learned to accept and appreciate rather than hide from and push away. I anticipate those future understandings.
Love Y'all,
Kacey
p.s. I was belting out the words to a great hymn at church last night when I realized what it was at the chorus, but I sang it. I sang the chorus to "It is Well with My Soul". Not every word came out, but I sang it, I truly sang it, which is kind of a big deal. Read more about the Songs I can't sing... here...
