Mercy Me always seems to put out stellar songs and the ones I am thinking of have solid biblical lyrics. Love it when a Christian artist can do that. Engage the culture and where people are without sacrificing the truth and depth of the lyrics. This is no less true for their new song, “The Hurt and the Healer“. Even thinking of the title reminds me of the book of Job or Paul’s prayer for the removal of the thorn.
We all face difficulties in life, in fact, Jesus says that if we are believers, we will face trouble. But, we have to take heart – for He has overcome the world (John 16:33). These difficulties may come in the form of sickness, financial troubles, relationship disagreements, forks in the road, death, etc. We never know what may come our way – but we do know the One who holds all things together. My Mom’s favorite song is I Know Who Holds Tomorrow. A favorite song I sang in high school was “Trust His Heart”. There are many songs out there that speak of hardship and knowing that God is still in control. My favorite hymn is It Is Well. There you go – another one that speaks to that truth of the sovereignty of God over all of our situations. We must claim that and believe that only with Jesus will we have peace through these storms.
The Hurt and the Healer – by Mercy Me
Why?
The question that is never far away
The healing doesn’t come from the explained
Jesus please don’t let this go in vain
You’re all I have
All that remains
So here I am
What’s left of me
Where glory meets my suffering
I’m alive
Even though a part of me has died
You take my heart and breathe it back to life
I’ve fallen into Your arms open wide
When the hurt and the healer collide
Breathe
Sometimes I feel it’s all that I can do
Pain so deep that I can hardly move
Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You
Lord take hold and pull me through
It’s the moment when humanity
Is overcome by majesty
When grace is ushered in for good
And all our scars are understood
When mercy takes its rightful place
And all these questions fade away
When out of the weakness we must bow
And hear You say “It’s over now”
Jesus come and break my fear
Awake my heart and take my tears
Find Your glory even here
When the hurt and the healer collide [x2]
I highlighted some of the lyrics above, so I thought I would expound on them:
Jesus please don’t let this go in vain – The Hubs and I are going through the book of James this year. As I re-read it almost daily, as I did with James 1 today, certain truths keep ringing loud and clear. In James 1, the outcome of the suffering (count it all joy, right?) is steadfastness, faith, crown of life, perfection and completeness. These will not come without trial. Believing that there is a plan and a purpose though to any trial you or I face is a tough faith thing. But, as it says later in James 1 – God never changes. So we must hold fast to the fact tha tHe is faithful and does all things for our good and His glory.
You take my heart and breathe it back to life – Some of you who are reading this may have just lost a loved one or your husband may be facing trials or you might be struggling with relationships or being in a place God has you for this time in your life. You might find that there are days when you would rather just not get out of bed (why does bed bring so much comfort?) Are we willing to let Jesus bring life back into our dead hearts? I’m reading through Beth Moore’s Praying God’s Word and in one of the sections she talks about the difference and the difficulties when Christians who are filled with Light are struggling with darkness. Are we willing, as believers who trust in the Sovereignty of God over all events in our lives, to let Jesus have full control and lead us where He wants to take us (or keep us?)
Pain so deep that I can hardly move – Just keep my eyes completely fixed on You – This pain can be quite debilitating at times. But, where is our gaze? Do we constantly focus on the hurt, the pain, the weariness, the exhaustion, the quietness, the numbness, the tears? Or we will able to let go and look to Jesus. I love the Fernando Ortega song, “Give me Jesus“. This speaks greatly to our needs vs our wants in what will satisfy our deepest longings.
Awake my heart and take my tears – One of my sweet friends, Jill McCloghry, one one of her early projects, wrote a song about the grace and mercy of God in how He catches our tears in a bottle (Psalm 56:8) There are some days when I don’t think I have any tears left (pregnancy). But, I know they are not wasted. I know God sees each and every one of them that fall and none of them soak my shirt and leave marks where He doesn’t see them. My husband often wipes away my tears – but my Father God who is gracious to me keeps them and knows them and will not let them be cried for nought. He is tender and merciful to His beloved sons and daughters.
You may wonder why I chose this picture to go on the top of the blog? I have this knack and desire to find half dead flowers and take its picture. It reminds me that we who were dead have been brought to life by the breath and salvation of God through Christ. It also applies here. We who are made alive may (no, will) go through suffering and at times we see no hope. But, where there is death – there is life. Jesus is that life.
I pray that no matter where you are today or what you are going through, this song/video, and this blog post have been an encouragement to you and has enabled you to fix your eyes on Christ.