Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call
I know I'm not alone in this life situation. My mother-in-law (how does that work now?) who will always be my second Mom lost her husband several years ago, and I know she's wrestled with this. I have friends who have been single all their lives, seemingly content with their friends and their God, but go through seasons of doubt and discouragement all the same. I know others who have lost a spouse through death or divorce. Still others who simply feel alone even within their marriage and outwardly perfect life. Whatever the circumstance, I think the words of this song, which echo the text of Psalm 42, reflect a condition many of us are have been in. We know that what we feel isn't right. We don't want to be alone. Our hope is shaken as we feel the effects of a fallen world around us. We want relief.
"As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God... My tears have been my food day and night..." -Psalm 42:1, 3
Often, when I experience this kind of longing for what I had, or just a person to share life with, the Lord reminds me that I need to find my all in Him. The final verse of this song says it well: "Should my life be torn from me, every worldly pleasure; when all I possess is grief, God be then my treasure." Ultimately He must be my treasure. I will never find true companionship in a person. I will never sooth that empty feeling in my heart with conversation and connection. Don't get me wrong, those things are good and gracious gifts from the Lord. But those things will come and go. God will not. And more importantly, God really knows me and will stay with me despite my faults. He loves me unconditionally. He is "my Savior and my God... By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me-" (Psalm 42:5, 8).
I don't know where you are at with all this. Perhaps you don't struggle at all with loneliness. That's what I'm feeling at the moment, but maybe next week it will be discouragement about the abortion crisis, or doubts about my finances, or worries about the salvation of my children, or anxiety about my job performance. Whatever thorn still remains, I want to examine it and know how God is using it to cause me to focus more on Him and become more like Jesus. As Paul wrote regarding his request that God would remove his thorn, "But [the Lord] said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me." (2 Cor. 12:9)
I pray that God gives me the strength to boast in my weakness, knowing that God will get even more glory from a broken vessel. How else could I possible cope with all this were it not for the grace of God? That is why I can sing this song. That is why I can praise Him with the words, "O my soul, put your hope in God; My help, my rock, I will praise Him. Sing, O sing, through the raging storm. You’re still my God, my salvation."
Lord From Sorrows Deep I Call
by Matt Papa & Matt Boswell
Lord from sorrows deep I call
When my hope is shaken
Torn and ruined from the fall
Hear my desperation
For so long I’ve pled and prayed
God come to my rescue
Even so the thorn remains
Still my heart will praise You
Storms within my troubled soul
Questions without answers
On my faith these billows roll
God be now my shelter
Why are you cast down my soul?
Hope in Him who saves You
When the fires have all gone cold
Cause this heart to praise You
Should my life be torn from me
Every worldly pleasure
When all I possess is grief
God be then my treasure
Be my vision in the night
Be my hope and refuge
‘Til my faith is turned to sight
Lord my heart will praise You
O my soul, put your hope in God
My help, my rock, I will praise Him
Sing, O sing, through the raging storm
You’re still my God, my salvation
Amen!
ReplyDeleteSing, O sing, through the raging storm
You’re still my God, my salvation