Chaos, chaos all around
Cars fly through the air and down
Screeching metal, running feet
Beating now a fast retreat
The earth shakes and breaks a part
Quite, be still my rushing heart
All of life is ripped away
As in Your arms I calmly lay
I lock my eyes on Your gaze
All my doubts and fears erase
As in a trance I’m calm and still
I am at rest in Your will
I know Your love and goodness too
All of me belongs to You
You give, You take and You restore
Blessed be Your Name, My LORD.
Pain, we all experience it; we know it well. If it isn’t touching us now, it will. Some pain eventually heals, others just dull, but once it has touched you, you are never the same. The worst of all pains has to be the pain of death.
Death hurts like no other pain I know; it penetrates every level of our being and tears out a chunk of our soul, or so it seems. Even for those who know they will be reunited with their loved-one in heaven the pain of this temporary separation is deep and permanent. Why is that? Why would God design things this way?
I suppose there are numerous reasons but the focus of my mind, at the moment, is one in particular. This pain, like nothing else, gives us a picture of the deep pain our Heavenly Father feels as long as we remain Spiritually dead and separated from Him. His love for us is so deep, so strong, and so true that any separation tears at His heart. He longs for us like we long to see our dear one again, hear their voice, and feel their touch. It was this pain that motivated Him to manifest Himself in Christ Jesus and sacrifice His Deity for our salvation. It is this pain that prompts Him to pursue us with unbridled passion and give us chance after chance to live again, live in Him and with Him, as we were created to, and NEVER be separated from Him again.
What do I do with this information? How does knowing the depth of God’s love for me change me? I am humbled by the lengths of His expression of love and I know that no matter how hard I may try I will never be able to reciprocate it. I’d like to try, even still. I’d like to bring joy to His heart. If separation pains Him so much then is there anything that would bring Him more joy than just being with Him, fully connected and communicating? And what work can I do greater than working to unite others with Him? Showing the world around me the depth of God’s passion for them and teaching them to trust the work of Christ to reconcile them to this loving God?
“Heal my heart and make it clean
Open up my eyes to the things unseen
Show me how to love like you have loved me
Break my heart for what is yours
Everything I am for your kingdom's cause
As I walk from earth into eternity”
"Hillsong United Hosanna lyrics"
