BRING IT ON

M and I are travelling through the States on our way to a conference. As we're driving we're listening to some of our older CDs. We just heard the song Bring It On by Steve Camp. As I listened to the words, I began to wonder if Steve would have written them knowing what he and his family would face years later.


Here is the chorus:

Bring it on
Let the lightning flash, let the thunder roll,
let the storm winds blow
Bring it on
Let the trouble come, let the hard rain fall, let it make me strong
Bring it on


For those of you who don't know just a few years ago the Chapman family lost one of their children in a car accident. She was only 5 years old.


Sometimes I think, LORD, I'm willing to go through whatever you want me to go through. BUT don't take my family through hard times. Don't let my children suffer. Don't let them know hard times. Let my husband, M, not struggle. Let their path be of peace and no pain. This is what I want, but I realize this is not what is good.


Christ has said, “If anyone would come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.” It's very interesting to me that when He said this to His disciples, He had not yet been crucified. What must they have thought? To follow Christ, they had to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Him. They were familiar with crucifixion. The Romans had seen to that. I don't think we'll ever know the extent of the severity of the pain, suffering and humiliation that went on as a person died on a cross. Our age has nothing to compare with it.


Yet to this is what Christ called them and us. “Deny self and take up your cross.” We can never know the full extent of what the cross entails until we take it up ourselves. My cross will differ from yours in that my strength, my weaknesses are different from yours. Yet Christ does not leave us alone to carry it by ourselves.


He has also said, “My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” He never meant for us to carry it by ourselves. He wants us to rely upon His strength. The whole point is to acknowledge that I can't carry it. Only He can walk me through it.


What Steve and his family went through, he would never wish on anyone. Yet they have come through it. Two portions of the song Bring It On are:


'Cause I know I've got an enemy waiting
Who wants to bring me pain
But what he never seems to remember
What he means for evil God works for good
So I will not retreat or surrender


Now, I don't want to sound like some hero
'Cause it's God alone that my hope is in
But I'm not gonna run from the very things
That would drive me closer to Him
So bring it on


THE VERY THINGS THAT WOULD DRIVE ME CLOSER TO HIM...


Do we realize that? The cross that we carry drives me closer to Him. It literally chases me into His arms where I can cry and learn of His peace, and receive the rest and contentment that only He can give in those times.



LORD, I can't do it on my own, but whatever You've got planned, bring it on.