In the Fullness of Time

This album was written and produced during a very difficult time personally. I was close to the weakest point ever emotionally: where all I could do was trust and worship Him. Now that He is bringing us through it, I hear the weakness in my recorded voice even though I sang these to Him with every ounce of strength I had. I was exerting, declaring and proclaiming, rejoicing… Yet the result betrays my weakened state.

God is not looking for a perfect voice. He is hungry for my worship offering as I am. Yours, too. Indeed, it is especially when we are weak that true thirst for Him comes forth. It is there we begin to recognize how deep our need for Him really is.

Worship is never dependent on our strength or energy. It is about the heart—choosing Him and choosing to trust in the darkest of hours. Recognizing our inheritance in Him is so much more than an answer to our frequent prayer for a nice today. He went to the cross. He didn’t need to go to the cross but did it for the JOY set before Him. The joy. For love of us. For you. Singularly. Completely.

So often we pray for ease now. Nothing is wrong with that. And there are greater things. In the midst of evil, suffering, injustice, grief and wounds, HE is with us on this journey. Emmanuel! And His greatest gift: we are not destined for here. HE wants us with Him forever. New creation. Eden restored and beyond. With the angels. With those who have gone before. He loves and knows we could not get there on our own. In His timing. By His grace…

Christmas celebrates that He came! Because He chose to live through this temporary “now” with its weariness, evil and suffering, there is a “to come” where every tear will be wiped away. And all will be as it should. Our healing will be complete. We will live with our roots extended deep into the River of Life which flows from the throne of God, and we will bear His magnificent fruit in all seasons with each other, in a JOY which cannot be fathomed or compared to the lesser “happiness” we so long for here.

Heaven rejoiced at the first Christmas and still does because it’s not about Christmas trees, gifts, pretty decorations, festive gatherings or a good meal. Christmas is about Jesus. He is the singular Gift and reason to celebrate. The song prayers on this fifth Christmas Worship album are prayers to help you take pause amid all that seeks to distract you from the bowed-down awe He is due, so that every moment becomes about grateful, joyous, reverential worship of His majesty.

~ Elizabeth, El Dorado County, California, Advent 2019