God is always doing 10,000 things in your life

“God is always doing 10,000 things in your life, and you may be aware of three of them.                                                                                                                           ~ John Piper

Our pastor recently preached a sermon titled, Struggling Well Without Fear.  As I thought about it throughout the week, the hymn, "Give to the winds thy fears," came to mind (sung triumphantly in my head to DIADEMATA). 

It's not in my Trinity Hymnal, so I'm not sure where I learned it.  I heard that back in the day in Inter-Varsity they sang it to the tune of "Festal Song" (Rise Up, O Men of God).  "Indelible Grace" also has a version. 

I like verses 1-2 and 6 especially, though I would add a disclaimer of course that sometimes the joy that comes in the morning is the eternal joy that comes in heaven or the joy of the Lord that is given to us despite unpleasant circumstances. 

This is a link to  a neatly-packaged story about how the hymn came to be.  Though I prefer our pastor's thinking that we're going to struggle, so let's use Scripture (& I would add hymns & the testimony of others) to inform us how to struggle well as believers. 

I copied the Piper quote at the top because it fits with the theme that we really do not see all the things God is doing in any given moment, much less over a lifespan.  But we trust! We believe! We hope! We know He is indeed at work. In His time, we may see it. And when we don't see, it doesn't help us to be dismayed or fearful.  

I was reminded of the Piper quote recently as I was driving shortly after dark, and a large beautiful deer leaped across the road in front of my van.  If I had not been able to slow down, we would have collided. Thankfully there were no vehicles behind me!  It was a very vivid illustration of one of the things God was doing in that given moment for me ... He was keeping the deer from hitting my van.  How many times has a deer crossed the road two minutes before I got to that point or two minutes after and I never knew it? But on that day, He showed me His protection.  And if the deer had hit my van, the Lord still would have been doing something worthy of worship.  The question is - am I fearful or am I trusting?

1. Give to the winds thy fears,
   hope and be undismayed;
   God hears thy sighs and counts thy tears;
   God shall lift up thy head.
2. Through waves and clouds and storms,
   He gently clears the way;
   wait thou His time, so shall this night
   soon end in joyous day.
3. Still heavy is thy heart,
   still sink thy spirits down?
   Cast off the weight, let fear depart,
   and ev’ry care be gone.
4. What though thou rules not,
   yet heav’n, and earth, and hell
   proclaim, God sitteth on the throne,
   and ruleth all things well.
5. Leave to His sov’reign sway
   to choose and to command.
   so shalt thou wond’ring own His way,
   how wise, how strong His hand!
6. Far, far above thy thought
   His counsel shall appear,
   when fully He the work hath wrought,
   that caused thy needless fear.
7. Thou seest our weakness, Lord,
   our hearts are known to Thee;
   O lift Thou up the sinking heart,
   confirm the feeble knee.
8. Let us in life, in death,
   Thy steadfast truth declare,
   and publish with our latest breath
   Thy love and guardian care.