the Journey- Say the name

 I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. Psalm 34:4

David wrote this Psalms when he was literally in danger, running for his life. If that is not fear, I don’t know what is?! But we see that he stopped and focused not on Saul who was hunting him, but he turned his focus on the Lord. He sought the Lord aka step one. We need to stop looking at our fear and start looking at the Lord.

How do we do the same? We seek Him by reading and studying His word, by talking to Him through prayer and supplication, and by being still and waiting on Him. He is faithful and will answer.

How do we know He will answer? Because, we have this promise. “He heard me”. God is not a respecter of persons, what He does for one, He will do for another. We have the promise that just as He answered David, He will answer us. And not only will He hear, but we have the added promise that He will deliver.

What does deliverance look like? Well for David, it came in Him acting like a crazy man to get out of the situation. And don’t think, he came up with that on his own, lol! But seriously, deliverance can come in many ways like miracles, divine appointments, or even in ways we really don't want. But know this sisters, the Lord loves us and wants only the best for His children. We can trust in His love for us, that He hears us and will answer in the perfect way, in the perfect time.

When we fear, we have the opportunity to choose faith. Fear is a feeling but faith is a choice. David reminds us in this scripture that when fear creeps in, we have the choice of faith to seek God.

For me, I lived this scripture at the side of a hospital bed. My father had surgery the day before however in the morning hours he coded, and they brought him back. That afternoon, I was in the cafeteria getting a bite to eat with mom when I heard “code blue 4 west”. I looked at mom and told her “that’s dad, let’s go”. And yes, it was him, hooked up to machines. The fear was there. The hopelessness wrapped around me, the fear of the unknown, the fear of losing him. It wasn't supposed to be like this. My sister was 8 months pregnant, I was getting married, the holidays were coming up. It wasn't supposed to be like this.

In the midst of turmoil and tears, there came a time when we all had no more to say. It was so quiet in that room. Some of us were sitting on chairs or standing. I was sitting on the floor against the wall just scared out of my mind. I remember praying around his bed for some time and someone saying what is there left to say? And someone answered, Jesus. Without thought or plan, we started singing, “Say the Name”.

Say the name of Jesus, say the name of Jesus

Say the name of Jesus, no other name I know

That can calm your fears, and dry your tears

And wipe away your pain

When you don't know what else to pray

When you don't know what else to say

Say the name

Jesus, Jesus

Jesus, Jesus

When you don't know what else to pray (don't know what else to pray)

When you don't know what else to say (can't find the words to say)

When you can't make it through another day, say the name

Was this the deliverance from fear that I wanted? No it wasn't. But it was in His mercy and love that He heard when we sought Him, and that He took my dad home to be with Him, with us sitting in that room watching the last breath. Yes, the peace came in and over took the fear because in that moment we knew dad was healthy in his new body, worshipping at the footstool of our Father.

I know this is lengthy, but as I was writing this and looking for a way to shorten, I felt the Lord tell me no, leave it as it is. I know someone here is meant to read this, and I want to encourage you sister that when the fear grips you… Say the Name.