If I Stand – Rich Mullins
There’s more that rises in the morning than the sun
And more that shines in the night than just the moon
It’s more than just this fire here that keeps me warm
In a shelter that is larger than this room
And there’s a loyalty that’s deeper than mere sentiment
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things
So if I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through
And if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home
There’s more that dances on the prairies than the wind
And more that pulses in the ocean than the tide
There’s a love that is fiercer than the love between friends
More gentle than a mother’s when her baby is at her side
There’s a loyalty that’s deeper than mere sentiment
And a music higher than the songs that I can sing
The stuff of Earth competes for the allegiance
I owe only to the Giver of all good things
So if I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through
And if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You
And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs
And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home
This song has had an impact on me for several months now. I have listened to it off and on, but now it has come to me again. My favorite line is the last one, “And if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home.” I want to live so as to portray Christ as the ultimate treasure in my life. I always want to be longing for my heavenly home. God has convicted me about releasing those things that keep my heart from being fully opened to Him. If I want Christ to be shown as the ultimate treasure in my life, then I have to surrender everything to Him.
I find myself thinking of my own circumstances and pondering things such as, “What is God’s will for me when I return home? Will I ever get married? What will happen if…?” A wise man (my Daddy) recently told me, “Sometimes the best stories are the ones you don’t know the end to.” I always want to know what the end is going to be. If I know the end, I figure, then I’ll know how much of my heart to invest in the present moment. However, it’s the in between times that God molds us into what he wants. That is where he builds our faith, no matter what the ultimate outcome may be. So, I’m surrendering each moment to God and living it whole-heartedly and not worrying about what the end may bring. God says, “I am the Alpha and the Omega.” “So if I stand let me stand on the promise that You will pull me through, and if I can’t let me fall on the grace that first brought me to You. And if I sing let me sing for the joy that has born in me these songs, and if I weep let it be as a man who is longing for his home.”
