On a day
like that,
when you
know that
those babies
had been
bathed in
prayer and
cared for
with the
most sincere
and cautious
care by the
Mom to be,
you question
God’s loving
kindness.
My friend
was driving
with the
windows down
on a Sunday
morning to
catch the
first warm
breezes of
spring when
her car
struck a
deer and
went off the
road.
Battered and
bruised, she
went to the
hospital for
treatment
and said
good bye to
the car that
she’ll still
be paying
for but
won’t ever
be driving
again.
On a day
like that,
when you
know that
single Mom
can’t afford
the time
she’ll miss
from work,
you question
God’s loving
kindness.
This is what
it means to
be held.
How it feels
when the
sacred is
torn from
your life
and you
survive.
This is what
it is to be
loved,
and to know
that the
promise was
when
everything
fell we'd be
held.
– from
Natalie
Grant’s
album
‘Awaken’,
song title
‘Held’
When I first
listened to
this song I
struggled to
grasp the
meaning of
the words.
On one hand
it seemed
meant to be
encouraging
but on the
other hand
it was not
at all so.
I had to go
pull the
lyrics to
try to
understand
what the
writer was
saying.
Unlike most
songs in
which the
writer
usually
tells us to
hold on and
we’ll soon
see God’s
hand of
deliverance
– this song
reminds us
that we
aren’t
promised any
specific
promise of
deliverance
on the
earth.
You can be
angry with
the
circumstances
you face.
You can rail
in anguish
at the
seeming
indifference
of a Father
in heaven.
You can weep
and cry and
bargain for
your pain to
be removed.
Your pain is
real and
your desire
for healing
and
deliverance
is
understandable.
The bible
says that
God sends
sunshine and
rain on the
just and the
unjust.
Good things
will happen
to bad
people and
bad things
will happen
to good
people. The
world we
live in is
evil and
there is a
spiritual
battle that
most of us
cannot begin
to
understand.
From our
point of
view – God
abandons us
and allows
us to
experience
terrible
loss when He
could and
should
intervene on
our behalf.
But from His
point of
view – what
does He
see? We
can’t fathom
it.
What do we
know about
God? He is
good. He is
holy. He is
all
powerful.
He created
us and He
loved us so
much that He
would not
allow us to
die in our
sin. He
sent His
only Son to
live among
us and die
in our
place. He
accepted the
shed blood
of Jesus
Christ as
the price of
redemption
once and for
all and He
allows every
single man
and woman on
the earth to
lay claim to
that
redemption
just by
confessing
the name of
Jesus.
He redeemed
us from an
eternity in
hell and
promised us
eternity
with him.
But He did
not promise
us heaven on
earth – He
promised a
new heaven
and earth.
On this
earth He
promised us
that evil
men would
hate us and
seek to kill
us. He
promised
that
persecution
would be
rampant and
the earth
would
crumble
around us.
He promised
us a
Comforter
and He
promised us
that He
would be
coming for
us – and
that He will
avenge us.
And we
accuse Him
of
unfaithfulness
when pain
and death
come near
our homes.
When the
worst
happens,
when our
hearts are
broken and
cold with
grief, when
we feel
farthest
from Him we
are called
to remember
that He
hasn’t
promised a
life without
heartache –
but He has
promised to
be there.
Knowing this
is a comfort
to those who
believe that
there is
more to life
than life on
earth. This
is only
bearable
because we
have placed
our faith in
God’s
promise of
eternity.
Someday He
will wipe
away our
tears of
pain and we
will at last
know what it
is like to
live without
fear of
loss. We
will
experience
pure joy and
awesome
security
without the
presence of
evil and
death.
Until then,
his arms are
enough.
"The eternal
God is your
refuge, and
underneath
are the
everlasting
arms"
-Deuteronomy
33:27 (NIV)
About the
Author:
Kelly
McCausey
co-hosts
Women By
Grace
Internet
Radio.
Powerful
encouragement
for
Christian
Women.
