In one of the churches I served in in the past a young man from the youth group sang a song that really seemed to move many people in the congregation. It moved some of the members to give testimony of God’s grace and provision and vision in their lives. This song touched me and I want to write a little bit about it.
The young man sang a song by Tenth Avenue North called “Times”. It’s lyrics for the second half of the song are as follows.
“Times” by Tenth Avenue North
I hear you say "my love is over,
its underneath, its inside, its in between
the times you doubt me, when you can't feel
the times that you've questioned 'is this for real?'
the times you've broken, the times that you mend
the times you hate me and the times that you bend
well my love is over, its underneath
its inside, its in between,
these times you're healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you've fallen from grace
the times you're hurting
the times that you heal
the times you go hungry and *are tempted* to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain
I’m there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame
I’m there through your heartache
I’m there in the storm
My love i will keep you by my power alone
I don’t care where you've fallen, where you have been
I'll never forsake you
My love never ends, it never ends
These lyrics are great and powerful if you really listen to them. They remind me of a couple of verses in the Bible.
You know when we get going in the daily grind and are trying to attain goals and check off items on our list we lose sight of what is really important. We sometimes get overwhelmed and just need a reminder of who’s we are and how much He cares for us. Deuteronomy 31:8 Says, "The Lord himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." I love this verse! In all times of our life good or bad He is always there and He will never leave or forget about us. Our God is awesome! I just sit in awe sometimes and think how could He love me that much that no matter how many times I hurt Him, no matter how many times I really screw things up He is still there for me and will never leave me. How can He do that?
Then I remember another verse. Romans 8:38-39 says, "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. " WOW! My God will never let me go. There is nothing on or off this earth that can take me away from God. Even when I am stupid and do things that threaten to take me away from God he holds on with a grip greater than G.I. Joe’s kung-foo grip. (A childhood memory crept in there. Sorry)
Read the lyrics again and remember how faithful God is. When you think about it God really is awesome and patient and the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
Sean Gardiner