God's Eye is On the Sparrow-
But His Hand Is On the iPod
I was sitting in the local coffee shop the other evening. For a number of reasons I was feeling depressed. Some of it is the normal grief process. Some of it is internal. Some of it may just be feeling sorry for myself. I was sitting and writing about this in my journal and listening to my iPod. Just letting the computer chip shuffle the music for me.

Or so I thought.

When sorrows like sea billows roll
Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.

That's what came through the earbuds as I finished writing the third "woe is me" sentence in a row. From Jars of Clay's Redemption Songs God caught me with one of my all-time favorite hymns.

Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

How easy it is to move out of the assurance of faith. How easy it is to get stuck in our own grief or fear or anger or attempts at controlling what is uncontrollable. I need to have a hit up the side of the head to bring me back to heaven's way in my life. What I have to do is move away from my own expectations of life while missing out on the things that God IS doing. Call it gratitude or mindfulness or getting your head screwed back on right. It will usually work.

Even if God has to shuffle the songs on my iPod to get my attention.

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!