Praise Him In Every Circumstance

I'm reading this book, Lifestories, by Mark Hall, the lead singer of Casting Crowns. In it he relates an email he received from a fan of the Casting Crowns hit, Who Am I. The young man tells an incredible story of loss. Here's the email: (this is long, but trust me you want to read it)

Thursday, October 14, 2004; 8:33 PM
Mark,
I am writing this in the hopes that this note along with my little story will reach you and the rest of the band. My name is Scott Devlin and I am 23 years old, residing in Warsaw, Indiana. I recently had a special young lady in my life by the name of Jessica. Jessica was an absolute example of what it means to be in pursuit of Christ. It is because of this trait that Jessica and I were headed down the road toward marriage. You see, Jessica also loved your album, especially Your Love Is Extravagant. She would play it over and over for me, singing the words every time with such passion. A little over a month ago, I was following Jess to her house on a dark stretch of road in the midst of a thunderstorm. It was only 60 feet in front of me that Jess lost control of her car and rolled top-first into a tree. As I made my way to the car and reached inside the twisted metal, I knew instantly that Jess was already with her Lord. I spent the next 10 minutes covered in mud, in the middle of a pouring rainstorm, complete with crashing thunder and flashing lightning, holding on to the hand of a lifeless and empty body that once contained the soul of a 20-year-old girl I loved. Your Love Is Extravagant was played for 500 people at Jess's funeral, where at least three people came to know Christ the way we do. I still cannot listen to the song without tears welling up in my eyes--not because of a loss, but because I remember the passion with which she sang those words. Your song Who Am I has been the reality of this experience for me. God is still God, and He is in control of His world. He gives and He takes away. I have seen evidence of both. The purpose of this e-mail is not to tell you a story about a car accident--something that happens many times a day. I am writing this e-mail to say thanks. Thank you for sharing your heart through your music, especially through Who Am I and your rendition of Your Love Is Extravagant. Jess could sing your songs and see God through them.... Please continue to share what you have special in your life with those who need to hear it. What you do makes a difference.
Press on and God bless,
Scott Devlin

I think this message speaks for itself. It may seem like everything I'm writing about pertains to Casting Crowns, but it is not my intent to praise them. I am simply sharing what God is doing in my life and others' like Scott Devlin. How truly amazing it is when God lifts us to a point in our relationship with Him that we can sing His praises in any circumstance. You see, the reason this story stuck out to me so much is because I lost a friend in this same way. My friend Danielle was driving home in front of her boyfriend on a rainy day. Less than a mile before her destination she lost control of her car on a 90 degree curve. Her boyfriend watched as a pickup slammed into her little car. Nothing could prepare us for the week-long battle for her life that ensued. Her body fought and fought in a coma until her brain finally gave up. We were devastated. It was the summer before we were to all be freshmen in college. My Christian friends tried to console me and remind me that we are not to mourn the way the world does, but I couldn't see any reason for God to let this happen. That was my unfortunate response. Then God floored me! I was informed that Danielle had accepted Christ in her life just two weeks before her fatal accident. What a miracle! If I couldn't see reason to praise before, I had one now.

The point of this is, no matter what your circumstance, don't despair. God is the Maker of the Universe. We cannot understand why He works the way He does. But, we can always praise him. It should be duly noted that Scott Devlin's band, The Avenue, played two nights after Jessica's death. Her family was in the front row. Scott later said that he "would give her up over and over again if it meant people finding Christ." And, several people did through her story. Like Jeremy Camp, who wrote the song Walk By Faith at his wife's deathbed, we can always praise and not mourn the way the world does.