I've had this song stuck in my head for a long time now, maybe since the CCYM Retreat in February. I finally broke down and bought a copy off iTunes, and have played it over 30 times in the last few weeks. Aside from it being catchy, I find this to be a profound statement of faith. Whether in good times (in the land that is plentiful), or bad (in the desert and wilderness), the songwriter claims that he will still praise the name of the Lord. Whether in the midst of suffering or blessings, he'll praise God and His glory.

That seems to clash against what we learn from our culture. We're taught, whether we realize it or not, that we should thank someone when they do something good to us and get mad at them when we're not doing as well. Basically, we're taught that our circumstances determine our treatment of others (and most importantly, God).

But that's not what we find in the Bible. Job was a man who was very successful but then lost everything. Here's what Job says after hearing that his children had just died: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I will depart from this world. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised." (Job 1:21)

Whether good or bad, Job praises God's name....... why?! Is that something you would do? Do you treat anyone like this? Your parents, teachers, elders? I'm really curious to hear what you all have to say on this topic. Does God deserve to be praised, even when bad things happen to you?



Jr. High: Do you remember what the coach said about winning and losing in the movie Facing the Giants? If so, put it in the Comments section.

Senior High Youth Group

Thursday, March 15 at 6:00 p.m.
Decorate Ukrainian Eggs
(Bring a tapered candle and candle holder.)

** No food will be served at this meeting. Note time difference. **

This morning I was reading through the last chapter in the book of Zephaniah. Zephaniah was a prophet who lived between 600 and 700 years before Christ. God spoke through Zephaniah to the people of Jerusalem about changing their bad habits. Through Zephaniah, God spoke these amazing words in Chapter 3:

"Woe to the rebellious city [Jerusalem]! ...it does not trust in the Lord, it does not draw near to its God." (3:2)

Well...it's not really amazing news for the people of Jerusalem. They spent their time worshiping pieces of wood and stone that they carved instead of worshiping the Lord. Despite all God had done for the people of Israel, they rebelled against Him and did everything they weren't supposed to do. The great part of this mess is found in the above verse: even though God could've been upset with them for all the bad things they were doing, what God was most upset about, the thing that really got Him angry, was that they stopped trusting Him. God was upset at the people of Jerusalem because they felt like they didn't need God. They abandoned their trust in God, and spent no time trying to "draw near" to Him.

The take-home message from this verse in Zephaniah seems to be pretty clear: God wants a relationship with you, and part of that relationship is you putting your trust in Him. Every day when we wake up we have another opportunity to get close to the God of the universe. I don't know about you, but that's something I want to strive for.