God in the shuffle

I love the shuffle feature on my ipod Nano. I use it almost exclusively. I love never knowing what will pop up next—a song from my favorite musical, a praise and worship tune, a rock out “I love Jesus” song, a country ditty, a tear-jerker love ballad. And the list goes on.

But I often wonder if God Himself is in the shuffle. Take today. I was driving along (remember the dentist and bookstore thing?) praying for various people in my life, my ipod singing in the background, when one of my favorite Third Day songs hit the queue. “Keep on Shining” from their album Wherever You Are.

Have you listened to these lyrics? The second verse is the one I resonate with the most:

Having faith in the long run is easier said than done It's hard to live out in the light of day You're bruised and you're battered, your dreams have been shattered Your best laid plans scattered over the place Despite all your tendencies, God sees it differently Your struggle's a time to grow And you, you're a miracle, anything but typical It's time for the whole wide world to know

Keep on, keep on shinin' Wherever you may be Keep on, keep on shinin' For all the world to see

My eyes misted over (not always a good thing while you’re driving) as I saw not only myself in those words, but all the people I had in my prayers just moments before. The song came to an end. I sighed with a satisfied longing—satisfied that God sees my struggles and those of my friends and family and yet a longing to have His arms around me, giving me His strength to keep walking, to keep shining.

So it shuffled to the next song. An old Vineyard worship tune I’ve cried though many a time. This time was no different.

Lord who am I
Compared to Your glory, Oh Lord
Lord who am I
Compared to Your majesty

I am Your beloved Your creation
And You love me as I am
You have called me chosen for Your kingdom
Unashamed to call me Your own
I am Your beloved

I had to catch my breath, dry my face as I pulled into the parking lot and wondered yet again if God is in the shuffle.