Songs of Comfort

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Songs Of Comfort

One night a few years ago I was out with my husband and friends who’s son was performing on the vibes at a local cafe.
It was getting late, some young women soaked in perfume came in and sat near us.
I immediately prayed that the Lord would protect me from getting a migraine.
Scents are one of my fiercest migraine triggers.
Suddenly as I was listening to the music, I became aware of all of the colors in the cafe; then everything I saw and heard poured like an uncontrolled river into my brain simultaneously.
I had no ability to focus on anything I heard or saw.
Now the cafe loomed up around me like a room crowded with thunder and giants in a blaze of unrestrained colors. I seemed to see every minute detail of everything ~the people and what they were wearing, every nuance of every color in the room, the windows, what was outside them, what was on the walls, the globe lights ~ and I could smell every odor~ the food cooking, the smoke from the grill, the smell of people and their colognes, shampoo, soap, as well as whatever they were drinking or eating ~ all of which was profoundly nauseating.
And all the while the music poured into my ears along with all of the other information without a director to focus my thoughts. It was like being in a madhouse.
As panic arose in my heart, I prayed for the Lord to rescue me.
Suddenly I felt His presence holding me close.
Although my brain was still in a state of uncontrolled sensory input, now I was no longer afraid for the Lord was guarding my thoughts and helping me to view the experience from a different perspective.
For the Lord had suggested to me, “Isn’t this fascinating, you don’t often get to see and hear things like this. Just think of it as a story you are writing.”
So then I calmed down and was even able for a few seconds at least to focus on bits of conversations around me. If raucous laughter was like nails piercing my ears, even the barest whispers were strangely loud for I seemed able to hear every noise in the room along with the music.
One moment I was mesmerized by someone’s drama only to be attracted by someone else’s saga behind me, and then the music, then the colored lights, then BANG went my head exploding in pain, and the room went spinning and I almost passed out.
I don’t even know how Mark got me home.
I vaguely remember our friends asking if I were all right.
Then Mark saying we had to leave.
“Hush, Be Still, Be Silent…” one of the comforting songs on my new album Paths of Mercy is just the right prayer song for a migraine sufferer. 🙂
There are so many prayer songs on Paths of Mercy that are just right for someone who needs to calm down, to get quiet before the Lord, to return and rest in Christ.
The prayer songs on this album are some of the most encouraging songs that my Savior has ever inspired.
Sometimes people ask why they have to suffer. There is a passage in the Bible I cling to that helps me put my own suffering in perspective every time I listen to the comforting prayer songs, poems, and music the Lord gives me.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ,
the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort,
who comforts us in all our troubles,
so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort
we ourselves receive from God.
For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ,
so also our comfort abounds through Christ.
If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation;
if we are comforted, it is for your comfort,
which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ” (NIV) 2 Corinthians 1:3-6
“Oh Lord, You Know The Way I Take,” is a prayer song that reflects my challenges in just showing up to any task by faith when I barely have any strength to get out of bed.
The “Prayer Song to Jesus My Good Shepherd,” is one I love to listen to and sing often because it encompasses so many of my challenges and presents my needs upon Christ’s Altar of Mercy and Grace.

“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Hebrews 4:16 KJV

“Hush, Be Still, Be Silent…” the prayer song I referred to earlier, is one I praise and thank my Lord for always.
This song truly presents my needs to God when I have migraines and all my thoughts are whirring about in my brain like a blender out of control, and only the Lord can push the stop button and reassemble all the fragments and corral them back into the fold of rationality.
And which of us cannot say that we don’t need to seek the Lord now while He can be found?
I know I harp on this but All of these songs were inspired by the Holy Spirit and the scriptures.
They came to me as gifts from the Lord and I am profoundly grateful and humbled by them.
God’s gifts more than anything remind me of the truth of the scriptures that God indeed has no favorites.
Continue reading “Songs of Comfort”

The River

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The River
© 2014 S.D. Harden

Life is a River, deep and wide,
Sometimes filled with peace,
Sometimes filled with joyous songs,
Sometimes unfilled needs.

Sometimes its waters overflow
With endless health and strength
That dwindle to a narrow creek
Of weakness and decay.

Sometimes the waters rush into
A gaping waterfall
And suddenly a life can change
To what is there no more.

Ever rolling onward,
Onward to the sea,
With each dawn the River brings
Us to another journey.

And how we all respond
To what the River sends
Is all that really matters
When we come to the River’s end.

May we honor God
With all that the River brings
Wherever the River takes us
Till we reach Eternity.

PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help us to understand that it’s not WHAT we endure in this life that matters, but HOW we choose to endure it. May You give us the grace to honor You in every situation, no matter what may come our way, thank You, Lord, in Jesus’ name, Amen.

Poem “The River,” © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.
Photo by S.D. Harden © 2014 Angel Song © 2014 All Rights Reserved.

Don’t Look Back

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Philippians 3:13-14

No, dear brothers, I am still not all I should be, but I am bringing all my energies to bear on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead,  I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God is calling us up to heaven because of what Christ Jesus did for us.”

DON’T LOOK BACK

© 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved.

Don’t look back, Oh don’t look back;

The past is gone away;

Keep walking forward on your path

With your mind on the present day.

Don’t look back, no, don’t look back;

The past is a bridge you’ve crossed;

The moment you stepped into today,

That bridge you crossed dissolved.

Oh, don’t look back, no, don’t look back,

Just keep your hand in Mine;

Today is a gift, My gift to you,

Your gift to Me is your life.

Oh don’t look back, no, don’t look back,

Just keep your eyes on Me;

We’ll walk each moment in My love

Till we reach eternity.

Angel Song © 2014 Prayer Poem “Don’t Look Back” © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden All Rights Reserved. Scripture Quotation: The Living Bible copyright © 1971 by Tyndale House Foundation. Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved./  Photo Illustration/ Via Pinterest

Wait For The Lord

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I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in his word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning,
I say, more than they that watch for the morning.” ~ Psalm 130:5-6 (UKJV)

I give thanks that we have a wonderful God who hears and answers our prayers.
God’s word admonishes us in Hebrews 4:16: “Let us therefore draw near with boldness to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy, and may find grace for help in time of need. (WEB)

The word mercy in this verse means kindness or goodwill towards the miserable and the afflicted, joined with the desire to help them.”

Our Creator wants very much to help us. He wants us to give Him our burdens.
Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your worries on him, because he cares for you.” -(1 Peter 5:6-7 WEB)

The word “grace” like mercy in the Hebrews scripture means “goodwill, loving-kindness & favor.”

As we give God our burdens, He wants to give us His blessings in return.
“In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” ~(Philippians 4:6-7 WEB)

PRAYER

Thank You, Heavenly Father, that You cherish each one of us as if we were the only one You had to love. Thank You that You hear our every prayer and that no detail of our life escapes Your notice.
You eagerly wait for us to pour our hearts out to You for You are truly the “God of all comfort who comforts us in all our afflictions…”
You hear and answer every prayer we prayer in Your own way and time. Please give us the faith to believe in You, the hope to wait on You,
the grace to know that You will never disappoint our trust in You.
We love You, Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Angel Song, ” Wait On The Lord” Prayer Poem and Illustration © 2014 Suzanne Davis Harden, All Rights Reserved.
Scripture Quotations from the Worldwide English Bible, & Updated King James Bible