Today I would like to share the story of my song is called I Cannot Imagine. I wrote it on August 19th of 2016. When I think about my life and the things that I could live without, a vast myriad of things come to mind. I imagine I could live without a car, even though getting from place to place may require help from a lot of different people. I imagine I could live without a house, provided I have at least a tarp or some other covering over my head. I imagine I could live without fantasy and adventure and thriller movies, even though I don't like to imagine that, lol! I could go on making an extensive list of things I imagine I could live without, but my heart and mind come to a standstill when it comes to things I imagine I cannot live without.
Of course, the first things that come to mind trying to imagine I could not live without would be the basic essentials of life. The air I breathe. The food I eat. The water I drink. The sorts of things that make human life and existence even possible. But then I come to a deeper realization of things I don't think I could live without and the list grows quite lengthy. I try not to imagine it, but I don't think I could live without my wife, Melinda. I know that if I were to lose her, God would somehow give me grace to get through…but I still do not like to imagine such a thing.
Through the years, people have derided me for having nine children due to their perception that it somehow negatively affects the culture in which we live and puts a greater strain upon the earth and its resources, but I cannot imagine losing one of my children. That would devastate me just as losing my wife would devastate me. With that being said, my faith in God gives me the hope of God’s grace should something like the loss of a child ever occur; grace that would help me bear such grief and sorrow; grace that would help me through the long, dark nights of loneliness and sorrow; grace that would give me a constant awareness of God's presence in my life.
The good news is that because I have had over 40 years of experiencing God's amazing grace as a new creation in Christ, I have evidence that tells me God can get me through anything. The other bottom line truth is that I cannot imagine trying to live my life apart from the love and grace and presence of Almighty God.
Following is the story behind the song I Cannot Imagine from August 2016:
Sometimes I feel so bombarded by the cares of the world that I forget how good life is. Currently, we are going through a dry time in our finances...not having a paycheck for over 6 weeks is rough...and exacerbated when you break a tooth...AC goes out in your house...and then goes out in your office...and then you get a water bill for about 10 times what it normally is...oh, and then you throw in online harassment or trolling, as the kids are saying these days, and it is understandable why one might feel bombarded! But Truth trumps feelings...and we are determined to get to the Truth. Our bottom line? So what if we lose everything? What's the worst that can happen? We could die…but that just means our physical bodies die, but our true being…our inner core identity…is instantly present with Jesus and all pain and suffering are dealt with once and for all and peace rules our hearts and minds for all eternity.
Of course, the enemy wants us to be deceived into believing God does not exist or God does not care for us or that God does not love us or that God only intermittently intervenes in our lives occasionally. To think of God in such a manner is considered vain imagination; imagining God as having the nature and wisdom of man; in other words, having stinking thinking about God by seeing him through the filter of the depravity of mankind. This song came as I wrestled through such lies to get to the Truth. And guess what I have found? Truth wins.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
For You I wait all the day.
Psalm 25:5 NASB
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 NASB 3 For though we walk in the flesh, we do not wage battle according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but divinely powerful for the destruction of fortresses. 5 [We are] destroying arguments (vain imaginations) and all arrogance raised against the knowledge of God, and [we are] taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish all disobedience, whenever your obedience is complete.
Here's the good news: we do not have to imagine God not being with us. We never leave his presence. We may choose to not acknowledge his presence or we may simply forget that he is with us every second of our lives and in every breath we take, but he never, ever leaves us or forsakes us…and we can take that to the bank. What I have found, ultimately, is that even in the middle of nowhere moments of my life, God is right there in the smack dab middle of it all…with me. And that gives me peace and hope and a sense of security even while the world seems to be falling apart around me. Our God is good. Let's put off the vain imaginations the enemy would have us think about our God and his love and put on the truth of just how massively great our God's love for us truly is.
Now, go and live like you believe God loves you…and simply be who your Father says you are. And, while you’re at it, dare to dream and stand in awe and wonder of how great and faithful Jesus Is. And remember, the same God that got our forefathers and foremothers through is the same God that will get us through. Trust Him to meet you in the middle of trying times with the necessary grace to see you through and to be with you every step of the way. Imagine that…
Dennis Jernigan
To hear The Dennis Jernigan Podcast version of this blog and to hear the song, go to http://podcast.dennisjernigan.com/e/i-cannot-imagine/
Photo courtesy of https://cdn.pixabay.com/photo/2017/07/18/03/22/thought-2514632_1280.jpg