Held

I recently heard the song (Held) by Natalie Grant. The song is simply beautiful and immediately gave me chills as I closely listened to the lyrics. I listened to it over and over letting every word sink in. At first, I’m not sure I completely understood. So I listened again…and again…and yet again. Then finally, it sunk in.

God NEVER promises us that we will not suffer and experience pain in this world. This I know. However, even when the enemy means for evil, God will turn it for good. Always. No person of faith since the beginning of time has ever lived without experiencing suffering. Even when we hurt and are struggling, God’s plans are to prosper us. Jeremiah 29:11, “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper and not harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

I know it has been true in my own life that in the times when I’m feeling the greatest pain I feel God’s nearness the most. During these times, I was being held. Psalm 34, “The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 147, “He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”

The truth is that we will experience suffering, pain, hopelessness, and grief in this world, but God not only promises that He will prosper us, give us hope, and a future he also promises that we will be held. When everything falls…we will be held. We will be held, held up, held together…and by the One who walked this earth, experienced the pain, knows and understands every thought and every feeling we have. We will be held. The promise was when everything fell, we’d be held.

Here are the Lyrics.
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Two months is too little
They let him go
They had no sudden healing
To think that providence
Would take a child from his mother
While she prays, is appalling

Who told us we'd be rescued
What has changed and
Why should we be saved from nightmares
We're asking why this happens to us
Who have died to live, it's unfair

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

This hand is bitterness
We want to taste it and
Let the hatred numb our sorrows
The wise hand opens slowly
To lilies of the valley and tomorrow

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

If hope if born of suffering
If this is only the beginning
Can we not wait, for one hour
Watching for our Savior

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
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Right after our little turkey was born, Craig and I decided that we wanted to write him a blessing. We wanted this blessing to be specially made from us and be told to him every night before bed. We wanted it to be something that would resonate with him always. We really wanted it to encompass the core of everything we believe is important (of course this was hard to keep fairly short). Here is the blessing we wrote for Turkey:

“May God bless you and guide you. May you be strong for the truth, honest in your words and loving in all that you do. And at all times, may God hold you in the palm of His hands.”

We say this to him every night as we lay him down to sleep. After hearing this song, I’m so happy we chose the words, “And at all times, may God hold you in the palm of His hands.” It is so important to me that turkey knows that God is indeed holding him in the palm of his hands. Always. That is the promise.