When God doesn’t meet our needs as we expect, He is still with us.   ~~~ If you’re standing at the waters edge, praying for a red sea road to cross on dry ground and the waters never part, is God still good? Your toes are in, you’re praying, believing, knowing He can part the sea, but as you walk in, the water keeps getting deeper and deeper. Is He still in control? Maybe you’re out in the deep and a storm is rolling in, you pray for the waves to ease up, but they don’t, so you weather the storm. Does God still love you? Those are honest questions when your faith is tested. When prayers aren’t answered the way we would hope, do we still believe? I grew up listening to Contemporary Christian Music. CCM. You know why I listened to that music? My dad LOVED it! He was influenced by the music that emerged from the Jesus Movement of the late sixties and early seventies. The music never stopped in our house. I was introduced to those CCM pioneers like LoveSong from day one and as I grew, so did the artists and the genre. We loved the Imperials and of course the breakout baritone, Russ Taff. In 1987 on his self titled record, there was a single called ‘I Still Believe’, written by Michael Been and James Paul Goodwin. Some of the lyric goes like this - I still believe Through the pain And through the grief Through the lies And through the storms Through the cries And through the wars I still believe Flat on my back Out at sea Hoping these waves Don't cover me I'm turned and tossed Upon the waves When the darkness comes I feel the grave But I still believe Through the shame And through the grief Through the heartache And through the tears Through the waiting And through the years I still believe Friend, when the water doesn’t part for me, I still believe. I’m too deep in the grace and love of Jesus! Like David, I’ve tasted and seen the goodness of God and He is my refuge. I gave Him my life when I was eight years old and I never looked back. It wasn’t just my dad’s sermons or the songs I would sing at the top of my lungs, I believed it then and even though life at times doesn’t turn out the way I had hoped, I still believe it now. I love the exchange that happens between Jesus and his disciples in the gospel of John chapter six. Go read the whole chapter. John chapter six! Jesus feeds the five thousand. He walks on water. Miracles are happening all over the place. Then the people start asking questions which ultimately reveals how shallow their faith was to begin with. John 6:28-29 Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” We want to do things to be right with God. We keep trying to save ourselves! Jesus says, I am the way, believe in me. Then Jesus put it all on the table by saying, “I AM the bread of life.” They didn’t understand. They wanted Jesus to give them what they wanted when they wanted it, but they didn’t want Jesus. So, many walked away. John 6: 67-68 “You do not want to leave too, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and to know that you are the Holy One of God.” Do you believe and follow because of what Jesus can or should DO for you? He’s not a spiritual vending machine. They walked away because they couldn’t see that JESUS was ALL they needed. When I sat by my dads bedside, holding his hand, my prayer, my hope was for him to sit up, stand up and say “let’s get outta here!” God is able. But the water didn’t part the way I wanted. My dad breathed his last breath and instead of a Red Sea road I experienced a wave of peace, joy and gratefulness washing over my soul. Whatever you think you need today, Jesus is enough, nothing more. That’s the truth. I’m all in! I still believe. Where else would I go? I’m Lori Cline