"Fall into the arms that won't let go"

Not long ago, I saw a TV show where a wife had lost her husband unexpectedly to death.  In her grief and agony, she yelled at God, and essentially did what Job’s wife had counseled her husband to do (in Job 2:9) she cursed God.  While it was fictional, her pain touched me.  And it occurred to me that while you didn’t go as far as this woman did in her response, perhaps you (or someone you love) are dealing with the shock and trauma of a death.

If so, let me speak a few words from my heart.  First of all, if anyone gets that there can be intense pain, unbearable heartache and visceral loss in this life, it’s me.  I have been there.  Therefore, with love and empathy in my heart, I want to direct you to a wonderful verse in the book of Psalms.  Psalm 56:8 reads, “You keep track of my sorrows.  You have collected all my tears in your bottle.  You have recorded each one in your book” (NLT).  You are in a room in your house all alone, and you have been crying your eyes out.  It’s easy to think that no one saw those tears, but the Bible says that God did!

Not only does God see all the tears, He hurts right along with you.  In John 11, the Bible describes Jesus’ attitude in the face of a death.  John 11:33 says, “When Jesus saw her [that is, Mary] weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled."  Upon seeing Lazarus’ body, the text says, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).  Jesus, God in human flesh, cried.  In fact, some believe that one of the reasons that Jesus cried is because He was grieved that mankind had to face death in the first place.  That's possible.  In the beginning, death wasn't on the table, until mankind chose their own way and sin and death was introduced (Genesis 2:17).  

I want to commend a beautiful song, by Al Denson, to you.  It is titled "The Arms that won't let go."  This excerpt from the song is fortifying: “If you need a pillow for your sorrow; if you need a blanket for the soul; if you need a place your broken heart can be made whole, He’ll be your strength to face tomorrow.  And when the night seems dark and cold, fall into the arms that won’t let go, fall into the arms that won’t let go.  Don’t have all the answers facing tragedy.  It seems as if the tears will never end.  But through the dark, you’ll see Him, the one you can believe in.  He’s offering you rest and a place to lay your head.”  

In conclusion, when we face the agony of death, it forces us to make a choice: we can either be like the woman I described earlier from the TV show: a person who shuns God altogether; or we can turn to Him for help and healing.  I pray it’s the latter for you.  I pray you will "fall into the arms that won't let go" because that's the best place you can possibly be.

Kevin