Blessed Be Your Name

One of my favorite songs of worship is Blessed Be Your Name by Matt Redman. Read through the lyrics below, and then I will share why it is my favorite.

Blessed be Your name in the land that is plentiful,

Where Your streams of abundance flow, blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name when I'm found in the desert place;

Though I walk through the wilderness, blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise.

When the darkness closes in, Lord, stil I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.

Blessed be Your name when the sun's shining down on me,

When the world's "all as it should be," blessed be Your name.

Blessed be Your name on the road marked with suffering;

Though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your name.

Every blessing You pour out I'll turn back to praise.
When the darkness closes in, Lord, stil I will say:

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name
Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.

You give and take away, You give and take away.

My heart will choose to say, "Lord, blessed be Your name."

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your name

Blessed be the name of the Lord, blessed be Your glorious name.

Everyone at one time or another faces some sort of difficulty or hardship in their life. Some people get mixed up with drugs. Others lose their house because they cannot afford to make the mortgage payments. Some struggle with alcoholism, while others struggle with thoughts of suicide or depression. And still some others lose a loved one to disease or some unforeseen accident. I truly have not covered every category of hardship that people may face, but you get the idea.

About four years ago my mom passed away from lung cancer. By the time we discovered the cancer, it was in the advanced stages, and we only had a month with her before she passed away. I was twenty years old when this happened, and I am now approaching my twenty-fifth birthday. My mother's death, by far, has been the toughest thing I have ever had to endure.

I remember a conversation I had with her before she died. It was the last heart-to-heart conversation we ever had. She told me that I might get angry with God because of everything going on with the cancer and the fact that she was going to die from it. And she told me it's okay to get angry with God. That's a natural reaction, and it's okay. However, she told me never to turn my back on God because He's the only one who will get me through this. I took my mom's words to heart and decided that no matter how tough things might get through it all that I would not turn my back on God.

I prayed for strength to get through it, and God blessed me with peace, personal strength, and friends, family, and a loving community at school to support me. I got through it okay, and have moved on with my life, just like she would have wanted me to. I still have rough days when I sometimes think about how much I miss her, but overall, I am doing well!

The song "Blessed Be Your Name" is probably one of the best ways to describe my relationship with God since my mom died from cancer. Basically, the message of the whole song is that no matter whether my life is going good or in a slump, I will never turn my back on God. Instead, I will praise Him always, even when I'm hurting. Like the song says, "Though there's pain in the offering, blessed be Your name."

It's not easy to praise God when we're going through a rough time. In fact, we want to yell at God, give Him a piece of our mind, or even ask why such an event has to happen to us. Praising God is probably one of the last things we want to do when we're hurting, but I have learned through the example of my parents and the experiences of my own life that God will always do what's best for me. I may not always enjoy it, but He will always do what's best for me and He will provide for my needs if I just ask Him. He has not let me down yet, and I don't believe He ever will. Because I know God's got my back, I can praise Him, even when the going gets tough.

Some of the most powerful words in the song are toward the end where it says, "You give and take away. My heart will choose to say, 'Lord, blessed be Your name'." We sometimes ask God, even challenge Him on, why certain things happen, and we seem to forget that He has the power to give us good things and also take them away without having to ask our permission! Regardless of what God gives us or takes away, we must make the choice of whether we are still going to follow God or turn our backs on Him because we did not get what we wanted. I have chosen that no matter what happens in my life, no matter what God gives to or takes from me, I will never turn my back on Him. Instead, I will still praise Him, even though it may be painful.

As you have been reading through this article, maybe a certain struggle or hardship of your own has come to mind. Maybe you have become angry at God and have decided to distance yourself from Him. Maybe you've turned your back on God because you just don't understand how a God who is so loving and so good could let something like this happen to you. Maybe you don't even know how to react, you're still in shock. I ask you to tell God what's on your mind. Tell Him how you feel, what you've been thinking, the questions you've been racking around in your brain. Tell Him all of it! And then, give things a second chance. Ask God to help you understand and move through whatever it is that you experienced or are currently experiencing. Because trust me, it's okay to get angry with God, but He's the only one who will be able to get you through this, so don't turn your back on Him.