Encourage Yourself in the Lord

Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.
Psalm 42:5 NIV

A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out…
Isaiah 42:3 NIV

…but David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
1 Samuel 30:6 KJV

The inspiration for this song began when I had just learned that my friend Alice, from women’s Bible study, had been diagnosed with liver cancer.

Alice Forney’s smile was unforgettable whenever I saw her at church. She’d ask about my kids and husband, recalling details from the last time I’d updated her. She remembered because she genuinely cared. A retired nurse of 30 years, Alice emanated God’s love through her compassionate nature. Her bright smile etched itself permanently into my heart.

I sobbed Psalm 42:5 into the chorus as I was sad to know she was suffering. It was the foundation for the song. I reflected on how David would “..encourage himself in the Lord” through His Word. (1Sam 30:6 KJV) I wondered how Alice’s faith was sustaining her through all that she faced. She would endure a 16-month-long battle before she “moved into her new address,” as her husband Bob put it, the day she left us. I would read Bob’s heartbreaking updates as he was faithfully at her side, advocating for the right pain meds and care and spending long hours with her in ER waiting rooms. He described some days as “being in the pit.”

“Alice has been on my heart as this song is forming,” I asked her and Bob in an email, while she was in the hospital, if I may share it with her. Alice responded, “I have always loved Psalm 42:5 and would love to hear the song with the music.”

New at recording, I reached out to some musicians from the church and began to record it, hoping to get it to her in a timely manner. The studio engineer also contributed on guitars and brought in a wonderful saxophone player.

I shared the song with her while it was still in progress, and prayed it would be a source of comfort to her. It was just a few months before she was ultimately relieved from her suffering and welcomed home by Jesus.

“Alice is celebrating with her loved ones tonight. Let us all praise God for the wonderful and fearful journey that He has taken us on. Tonight, I switch between grief and praise. I pray that my periods of grief will get shorter and my times of praise will get longer,” Bob Forney wrote in his final update to all of us who had been praying for Alice.

Bob exemplified finding strength and encouragement in the Lord as he stayed by her side in Christ-like devotion, reminding us of our God, who never leaves us, until He takes us by the hand and leads us to our new home to be with Him forever.

Alice honored the Lord with her life in the way she loved and cared for people. She will always be an example and inspiration to me.

“Encourage Yourself in the Lord” can be found on most digital streaming services. Additional verses of inspiration include Psalm 32:4, Psalm 34:18, Galatians 6:9, Deuteronomy 31:6, Isaiah 40:11, Isaiah 53:10, Philippians 3:10, James 1:2-4

One of the first songs that I recorded is called, “The Word of the Lord.” I have loved the Word since I was a child. During church I’d sit with my parents to hear the sermon instead of attending Sunday School with the kids as I was hungry to learn more.

I enjoyed memorizing verses for Bible Quiz Team, and learning about Jesus during after-school Bible studies. I can still smell the popcorn, and chocolate & peanut butter chip cookies Molly Kingsley baked for her group of middle schoolers. She invited us to “taste and see that the Lord is good,” (Psalm 34:7) and enjoy the sweetness of His presence as we opened His Word together. Mrs. Kingsley’s joyful love for the Lord and His Word were contagious and fostered my own.

My journey deepened as my mom modeled life application of the Word. I observed her journaling to the Word as she raised my 4 brothers and me, clinging to the Lord through challenging circumstances. She’d put on praise music of CCM greats like Mylon Le Fevre or Sandi Patty while she worked around the house and made cakes for her customers. His Word became my own lifeline as I learned to rely on Him in both good and hard times, and seek to honor Him with my life.

This song celebrates the comfort, guidance, purity, reliability, healing; and all the life-giving benefits found in His Word. Psalm 103:2 tells us to “forget not all His benefits!”

“They are life to those who find them and health to one’s whole body.” Proverbs 4:22

Other scriptures referenced in this song are; 2 Samuel 22:31, Psalm 17:6, Psalm 19:7, Isaiah 55:8-9, Jude 1:24

“The Word of the Lord” is found on most digital streaming services. Thank you for listening and celebrating with me the Living Word of God!

Cover photo credit: United Precious Metal Refining, Inc.