Last Wednesday morning as I got ready for the day, God gently placed a song in my thoughts. Not the whole song though, just the first several words.

Let the King of my heart . . .

That was it. Just the first six words to be exact. As I tried to sing the lyrics in an attempt to pull out the rest of the words from my worship song bank, my memory failed. I just kept humming the same six words.

Let the King of my heart . . .

Note to self: look up the lyrics and figure out the rest of the song. Then I cranked the engine towards another hump day and busyness hijacked any thoughts of worship lyrics and God’s gentle nudges to go ask Google.

That same Wednesday night, as I sat on the edge of a metal bleacher, I watched my youngest son injure his “good” knee in a preseason high school soccer game. Everyone in earshot heard the dreaded “pop” and my husband and I knew immediately by the panicked expression on our son’s face. After coming back from a right ACL tear and repair, he had now most likely torn his left ACL.

It was a terribly awful yet beautiful scene on the field as his coach waved us to come comfort our son in the midst of his worst nightmare. The golf cart came, his teammates expressed their mutual heartbreak one by one with fist pumps and head rubs, and, as we were carted off the track, his team scored what would be the winning goal. My son clapped as my heart sank a little deeper into the gut-wrenching reality of what just occurred.

In that moment as I held my hand against my son’s chest, I thought God, what are you thinking? God, what are you doing?

Unfortunately, my family knows these types of injuries all too well. My husband and all three of my children have torn their ACLs plus more. As a family, we are now potentially facing our ninth surgery in six years. It is our very own ridiculous reality.

By Saturday morning, I had taken my youngest son to the orthopedist, scheduled a MRI, and moved my two oldest children into college. Talk about an emotionally charged and physically exhausting week.

Yet even bone-aching fatigue did not quiet the echo in the canyon of my grieving heart; God, what are you thinking? God, what are you doing?

And then He reminded me. The King of my heart reminded me to look up the lyrics. And this is what He was preparing me for on Wednesday morning:

Let the King of my heart

Be the mountain where I run

The fountain I drink from

Oh, He is my song

Let the King of my heart

Be the shadow where I hide

The ransom for my life

Oh, He is my song

‘Cause You are good

You are good, oh oh

You are good

You are good, oh oh

You are good

You are good, oh oh

You are good

You are good, oh oh (1)

Did you just sing it with me? Oh I hope so! In fact, I encourage you to look up the whole song.

God, in His great mercy, placed this song in my thoughts on Wednesday morning because He knew my heart would need reminding, He is good, good, so good, by that same evening.

My friends, what scripture says is so very true. He knows what and Who we need before we even have a clue. He goes before us, He follows behind us, and hems us in on all sides.

“Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.” (Psalm 139:4-5 ESV)

He figuratively, and sometimes literally, puts a new song in our minds and mouths and hearts as a reminder of the pouring in of His Spirit who is poured back out in praise from a heart made new by His Son.

“He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” (Psalm 40:3 ESV)

God knew that when the questions birthed by doubt and fear crept in like the serpent, I would need to hear the melody of His goodness repeated through praise.

Only an eternally faithful and loving Father, rich in mercy, abounding in grace, slow to ever discipline through anger, would reach down from the realms of heaven and pour love on a mother’s heart prepped for pain.

God is true to His name (Exodus 34:6 ESV). And He not only promises to give us a new song, He is our song.

Dear friends, is He the mountain, the fountain, and the King of your heart? Is He your song?

The bridge of King of My Heart says, “ You’re never gonna let, You’re never gonna let me down” on repeat. And while it is very easy to feel like God has somehow let us down when life does not go the way we hoped, the truth is that God is the only One who will come through for us in the end.

“My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” (Psalms 73:26 NLT)

Just as I encouraged my son this week with this verse, let the joy of the Lord be your strength. I pray that you know Him like a chorus knows a melody, like a sheep knows its Shepherd.

So at the end of an emotionally exhausting week, this mother’s prayer is that the King of my son’s heart will write the lyrics of my son’s life in such a way that many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.

(1) Songwriters: John Mark McMillan / Sarah McMillan, King of My Heart lyrics © Capitol Christian Music Group, Capitol CMG Publishing