Even on an Ordinary Friday

So here is where this mess meets Beautiful.  Because I can spill words on a page and accumulate a post and the syllables don’t translate my heart’s cry, not fully.  And I hear a song and, because God marinades my heart in chords and lyrics, my thoughts posted in cyberspace play on inside me still.

“And even though it all went wrong
I'll stand before the Lord of Song
With nothing on my tongue but Hallelujah!”

Hallelujah. Praise Yahweh.   “Even though it all went wrong.”

It can all go wrong.  Even the most pure of human hearts will find themselves angled away from God, away from the only Power we have for good, the only Way to right. And, it can all go terribly wrong.  But when we can, even in the stench of our humanity, raise our hands and roll the Hallelujahs off our tongue in the presence of a Holy God and confess that He is good all the time when we are good none of the time, believing we will be received by Him with love and washed in grace again and again, delighting in His presence… that is walking in freedom in the name of Jesus.

When it all goes wrong is when we know how free we really are.   We can either choose shame or freedom.  We can either hunker down behind the bushes pulling our faith up by the bootstraps determined to do better, to be better, wrapping our heart up in fig leaves as we hear a Voice calling, “Where are you?” Or, we can run free, straight to our Father’s arms, and lean in firm as He continues to make us new while whispering, “Welcome home, child”.  Freedom sounds pretty good. And He is the only true better.  Even after it all went wrong. Especially then.

Hiding in fear and shame, developing our “be better” plan, running away from the cross instead of straight for it, that is freedom’s enemy.  Walking in the freedom of Christ doesn’t mean we walk perfectly. It means we walk with the One who is perfect, who bridges the gap. And being in His presence is enough. More than enough.

And the hallelujahs resound throughout the Heavens when that is all we want to do. Praise Yahweh in our brokenness because He is really all we need.  And His love is the only thing that makes anything right.  On Good Friday and even on an ordinary Friday.