Running Out of the Grave

“You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.” Psalm 139:16

Yesterday, I watched Seacoast Church online and was so blessed by their message. Their new series is called Unwritten based on our unwritten year of 2019. We see it as a year that lays blank before us inviting us to write our story. However, the message Unwritten encourages us to ‘lay down our pen’ and allow God to continue writing the story that He began before we were even born. Our verse above reminds us that God has already recorded in His book every moment and day we would live…the lovely and the unlovely…the joy and the pain…the victories and the defeats. And most importantly the day where the ink runs dry on earth and when our faith becomes our sight.

Yesterday morning while in my home church I was thinking about our friend Chris being in Heaven, along with my dad and other loved ones. The worship team began performing one of my favorite songs Glorious Day by David Crowder which speaks of leaving our old way of life and walking in a living relationship with God. As I sat there considering these things, God joined me in my reflection and gave me a new version of this song. This version speaks of earth being the grave from which we will run when He calls our name. Its melody echoes reminders that earth is full of shame, sin and sickness, a weight we were never designed to carry. This rendition speaks of going from living in dark tombs to running into the citizenship of Heaven. When He lays down the pen and calls our name, we will not be able to run fast enough out of the grave to join Him in His eternal day. We will never write another story separated from God. As I await our friend’s celebration of life ceremony on Friday, I will carry in my heart this image of Chris running out of his grave into the brilliance of God’s wonderful light!

“I was buried beneath my shame, who could carry that kind of weight? It was my tomb till I met You. I was breathing, but not alive. All my failures I tried to hide, it was my tomb till I met You. You called my name, and I ran out of that grave! Out of the darkness, into Your glorious day!” Glorious Day, David Crowder