This blog was written by Melissa Hendrickson as part of the CPC22 Undivided Series. Our hope through these reflections by ministry leaders is that they would prepare your hearts to hear from God while you’re at CPC in person or CPC+ online. You can listen to the whole CPC22 playlist here on Spotify.
Read these opening lyrics of the song “Promises” by Maverick City Music.
God of Abraham
You’re the God of covenant and faithful promises
Time and time again
You have proven
You’ll do just what You said
Though the storms may come
And the winds may blow, I’ll remain steadfast
And let my heart learn when You speak a word
It will come to pass
Maybe today, when you read these words, you think this is a nice sentiment, but you are unsure of how to look beyond your current situation to see how God will be faithful at this moment.
You want to believe that He will be! Yet, the loss of a loved one, or the loss of a job, or the loss of a community, or whatever you’ve prayed for that didn’t come to pass or happened differently than you were expecting has sucked the wind out of your sails, and you find yourself tossed upon the rocks trying to keep your head above the water.
In the middle of the storm, it can be hard to know what will happen next. It can be hard to sort out where we can see Jesus amid our grief. So, today, I want to invite you to look backward.
I invite you to take a moment to recount to yourself the ways God has been faithful to you in the past.
So often in Scripture, we see that people built altars, a memorial that they could return to and remember what God had done. A place that would encourage future generations to ask, what happened here?
What altars have you built? What stories can you tell of the faithfulness of God?
I put my faith in Jesus
My anchor to the ground
My hope and firm foundation
He’ll never let me down
When everything around us feels like it is crumbling, Jesus remains – steadfast and true. It is safe for us to put our hope in Jesus. No matter the outcome of the situation we are facing, Jesus will meet us.
He will weep with those that weep and rejoice with those that rejoice. He will not rush us through our grief, but He will gently nudge us to keep walking; so we do not get stuck. He will hold us close and remind us that His love for us is never-ending.
Jesus will never let us down – not one time!
Yes I’ll still bless You
In the middle of the storm
In the middle of my trial
I’ll still bless You
In the middle of the road
When I don’t know where to go
I’ll still bless You
We serve a faithful God. When He speaks, we can trust that His words are true. He walks with us every step of our journey. He is worthy of our praise. He has shown us time and time again that we can trust Him – even when we can’t see Him, even when we don’t know what to do, even when it all feels like too much.
We can bless Him, thank Him, honor Him – not because everything is perfect around us, but because He does not change.
Great is Your faithfulness to me
Great is Your faithfulness to me
From the rising sun to the setting same
I will praise Your name
May these lyrics from Maverick City Music be a balm to your weary soul. As you sit and listen to the song “Promises”, may you feel the Spirit near to you, and may you embrace the invitation to remember the never-ending, never-changing faithfulness of God.
Whatever you are facing as you prepare for CPC or the new year, please know you are not alone. You are deeply loved, prayed for, and welcome just as you are.
We are so hopeful for the ways God will show up in this next year!
About Melissa
Melissa Hendrickson has served children and their families for the past 26 years. She recently founded www.holyformed.org and is writing and teaching on Spiritual Formation. Melissa has been married for 21 years and has two sons. The oldest recently started college, and the youngest is a high school freshman. Melissa loves to read a good book, enjoys a nice cup of Rooibos tea, and always looks forward to traveling with her family.
