The Life Playlist (Part 2)

11. growth

We all want growth. Let me rephrase that. We all want the end result of growth. However, the process of growth is usually slow and painful, and none of us wants to have to wait and go through pain to grow. Unfortunately, growth isn’t a quick and easy thing. 

The growth God wants for us rarely happens the way we would like it to. He wants us to be like Him, and He is willing to use whatever means are needed to achieve that end. Growth is important and intense. God is constantly shaping us into who He wants us to be: vessels for His use. He isn’t going to stop until the work is done.

Growth comes through staying connected to Christ. As we rest in Him, He works in us and shapes us into His likeness.

Just wait and see, my fellow clay jar. You and I are going to be beautiful pieces of art when the Master Potter has finished His work.

My world is spinning, my life seems so out of control / Nail-scarred hands tell the story of love that will never let go of me / Through the sunshine or rain, I know where my hope is found / What You started in me, I know You will complete from the inside out // And as I fall apart / Come flood this desert heart / Fall like the rain, Living Water / And I know Your way is best / Lord, help me find my rest / And I’ll be the clay / In the Hands of the Potter 

— Mark Hall and Jonathan Smith, “In the Hands of the Potter”

12. gratitude

When we realize that every breath is gift and  every moment is grace, our hearts bubble  over with gratitude. God has given us so many gifts, both physical and spiritual. To acknowledge the Giver of all good gifts is an act of worship that we cannot do without.

What will you thank Him for today?

Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation! / O my soul, praise Him, for He is thy health and salvation! / All ye who hear, now to His temple draw near, / Join me in glad adoration!

— Joachim Neander, translated by Catherine Winkworth, “Praise to the Lord, the Almighty”

13. worship

Worship isn’t supposed to just be something we do for several minutes on Sunday. It’s supposed to be a part of our day-to-day lives. Like the breathy notes of a flute, like smoke from burning incense, praise is to rise from our lives at all times. Worship is a posture we maintain, a state we dwell in.

Praise, exaltation, thanksgiving, honor, blessing―all are aspects of worship. Worship has many forms but one purpose: to lift God high. For He is worthy of all our praise.

Here I am to worship, / Here I am to bow down, / Here I am to say that You’re my God / You’re altogether lovely, / Altogether worthy, / Altogether wonderful to me

— Tim Hughes, “Here I Am to Worship”

14. listening

To keep in step with the Spirit, we must be in a state of listening, of being willing to hear and obey whatever He says. We must intentionally choose to listen and tune our ears to God’s voice. He often speaks softly in the stillness when we steal away to spend time with Him. Many obstacles block us from hearing and many voices clamor to be heard, but there are rewards for the listening heart. When He speaks, our spirits are renewed. Fresh life and faith are breathed into us. This can happen anytime and anywhere so long as our hearts are receptive. God wants us to be sanctuaries where His voice is heard.

Speak to me Lord for Your child is here listening / Speak to me Lord for Your child is here waiting on You // Unveil my eyes let me see. . .see You / Unveil my heart let me know. . . know You

— Rebecca St. James, Josh Deaton, and Tedd Tjornhom, “Speak to Me”

15. God’s presence

God is always everywhere, which means that He is always here, regardless of whether or not we feel Him. We can’t escape His presence. Wherever you are, He sees you. He loves you. He’s with you. He will never leave you. This wonderful assurance dances through our days like a dream―only it’s real.

He is here.

The many times that I have felt alone / The many times that I have felt / All the world was crashing down upon me / You always stood here by my side / You were always there // Everywhere I go I know You’re not far away / You’re right here, You’re right here

— Jeremy Camp, “Right Here”

16. grace

Celestially sweet strains of grace sound in the chambers of every heart God has set free. For those whom He has redeemed, grace is the air we breathe.

What is grace? It is unmerited favor, undeserved kindness, unearned faithful love. Chanan, the Hebrew word for grace from which the first part of my name (Hannah) is derived, carries the idea of “stooping down to show favor.”¹ What a vivid picture of grace: withholding the judgment and punishment that is deserved and bestowing love in its place. Grace is free to receive, but costly to give. Grace is . . . amazing. 

Because God has shown amazing grace to us, we are called to show such grace to others. We are to hold before them the face of love. Now that we are free, we cannot help but sing of the amazing grace of the One who broke our chains. 

Amazing grace! how sweet the sound / That saved a wretch like me! / I once was lost but now am found; / Was blind, but now I see. // My chains are gone, I’ve been set free. / My God, my Savior has ransomed me. / And like a flood His mercy reigns, / Unending love, amazing grace.

— John Newton, additional lyrics by Chris Tomlin and Louie Giglio, “Amazing Grace (My Chains Are Gone)”

17. truth

We desperately need to hear and know truth,  especially in today’s relativistic culture. Truth is not relative.  Preferences and opinions  can  vary from person to person, but the truth is the same regardless of what anyone believes. There’s no such thing as “your truth” and “my truth,” there’s only the truth, and that’s found in Jesus. He sets forth the standard of what is right and wrong, true and false. That makes sense if you think about it: He created the world, so He has the right to set the standards for His creatures and tell us what is  true and what is not. 

Finding and following the truth can be costly,  but it’s well worth the price. Knowing the truth sets us free. No longer do we have to flounder in shifting quicksands tossed by the tides of the world’s ever-changing ideas. We can stand secure on the firm foundation of God’s Word and find there a steady rock to build our lives on. Once we know the truth, we can let its hold on us shape us into who God intended us to be, and we can be bearers of the truth to others.

Following the Truth leads us home to our Father’s heart.

To the one brand of truth / To the one empty tomb / It is pure and simple / It is sure and strong / And I serve the one who is the Lord alone / And His one brand of truth

— Geoff Moore, Roscoe Meek, and Greg Herrington, “One Brand of Truth”

18. beauty

Beauty in all its forms, whether seen, heard, or felt, stirs within our souls an irresistible longing and awakens in our hearts an ache for something indescribable. Our experiences of beauty sometimes send our hearts soaring to heaven, but inevitably they end and we tumble back to earth. That’s a painful reminder that we are not home yet.

Beauty calls us to pause, to reflect, to ponder, and to give thanks.  Like a stained glass window, beauty brings out the colors in the rays of God’s light that shine upon us. It opens our eyes in wonder. We are surrounded by beauty, providing us with ample opportunity to reflect on God, the ultimate source of it. His beauty shines on us and calls us to worship the truly Beautiful One.

You opened my eyes to Your wonders anew / You captured my heart with this love / Because nothing on earth is as beautiful as You // Beautiful One I love You / Beautiful One I adore / Beautiful One my soul must sing

— Tim Hughes, “Beautiful One”

19. creativity

As image-bearers of God, the Creator, we are called to create. Our creations are only echoes of God’s, but they are still beautiful. Shining like stars in a boundless evening sky, our creations reflect tiny hints of God and His infinite creativity. We can testify in many ways―through words, music, colors, clay, wood, metal, food, and so much more. Through all these means we can speak of God. There is a Creator who made us. We make things because He has placed in us the desire to do so, and in so doing we display glimmers of His light in this dark world.

Every word of every story, / Every star in every sky, / Every corner of creation lives to testify // For as long as I shall live, / I will testify to love. / I’ll be a witness in the silences / When words are not enough. / With every breath I take, / I will give thanks to God above. / For as long as I shall live, / I will testify to love.

— Paul Field, Henk Pool, Robert Riekerk, and Ralph Van Manen, “Testify to Love”

20. humility

Like the sound of gently plucked guitar strings, humility lends a soft and sweet backing to our lives. When we are humble, we have ceased striving to prove ourselves to God and everyone else. We don’t need to. We have a proper view of God’s greatness and our smallness, of His kindness and our unworthiness. His acceptance of us in Christ causes gratitude to well up within.

Brennan Manning once wrote that humility is “the stark realization and acceptance of the fact that I am totally dependent upon God’s love and mercy. It grows through a stripping away of all self-sufficiency. Humility is not caught by repeating pious phrases; it is accomplished by the hand of God.”² That’s a work that needs to be done in every one of our hearts. 

Held in Jesus’ arms, we realize that apart from Him we are nothing, but in Him we have everything we need.

I am nothing without Your love. / I’m unworthy but Your death has been enough. / I’m completed by Your touch. / But I feel like I’ve been given so much. / And I thank You, I thank You.

— Jeremy Camp, “I Am Nothing”

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1. James L. Strong, entry #2603 in the New Strong’s Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Hebrew Bible (Hebrew and Aramaic Dictionary) included in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990). ↩︎
2. Brennan Manning, The Signature of Jesus (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books, 1996), 135. ↩︎