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I found out on Monday that Walter Hawkins had gone home to be with the Lord on Sunday. Immediately, I wanted to hear his music. “Be Grateful” continues to be one of my oldie but goodies. The power of the lyrics and the anointing that comes through when played still calls me to immediate attention.
I like those songs that grab your attention and cause you to really examine who you are against who you are striving to be. Which brings me to the continuation of my post from yesterday. We continue to talk about how ugly can look good but can never be good. Well, from the perspective of Walter Hawkins’ “Be Grateful” I would surmise that it is impossible to be both grateful and act ugly.
When we act out or act ugly, we are allowing our pride to drive us and our flesh to rule over us. This is not the way of a grateful heart. A grateful heart says, “no matter what comes my way, I’m going to praise God”; “When people talk about me, I’m going to praise God”; “When people give me a hard time, I’m going to praise God”. Why? Because a realization exists with the grateful. A grateful heart recognizes that outward conditions do not have to control inward conditions. In other words, my outward state, does not have to control my inward response. Things can be breaking loose in my life, but my response to the external stimuli is my choice. Mine alone.
Will I then choose the pus-festering, never-ending, disease-ridden route of defeat or will I turn to God for victory? Will I surrender to my flesh or will I surrender to His will. I know it can hurt and I know that it is hard to condition our response to be one that honors God always. Yet the lyrics from Walter Hawkins tells us “God desires to feel your longing; Every pain that you feel; He feels them just like you”
The lyrics go on to talk about salvation and Jesus’ work on the cross. There is nothing that we face that compares to the cross. And since Jesus didn’t act ugly on the cross, nor at any point when He was being spit upon, beaten, mocked and jeered at, it kinda makes the things that attempt to rile us up seem as trivial as they really are from the lens of eternity.
Ugly doesn’t look so good anymore, hunh? If you are able to answer that it doesn’t, then thank God and be grateful. Ugly is ugly.
RIP Walter Hawkins. I thank God for his service to God’s children.
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