If you would prefer to listen to this post as a podcast, CLICK HERE.
* * * * *
My wife will tell you that when a song REALLY touches my heart, i have a tendency to play it over and over … and over again … until it is completely embedded in my soul. And i don’t tend to play it quietly! (Now you know another way you can be praying for my wife as she patiently walks through this journey of life with me!) Such is the case with the final track of Michael W. Smith’s most recent album, Worship Forever (Live). The song is entitled Sing Again. I have included the lyrics below, as well as a link, so you can read them and listen to the song. i hope you will take a few minutes to do so, if you are not familiar with it. It will speak to your soul!
During the past few weeks, we have seen a number of friends walking through the pain of battling cancer, Covid, and the like. We have seen the pain experienced by their families as they have walked right there with them. And we have seen the sorrow of some of those families as those battles have ended in the passing of a beloved husband, wife, parent or child. The song has really gotten me thinking about what it means to be a “keeper of the light” – not when everything is going great – but in the midst of sorrow and pain.
i think we sometimes mistakenly believe that as we walk with the Master, we should somehow be exempt from pain and suffering. We have been known to look up into the heavens and cry out, asking God why He has permitted us to walk through what is happening in our lives. Somehow, we believe He has let us down and failed to live up to His promise. And if we’re not careful that cry can turn into bitterness or anger directed toward God.
But God never promised us that our journey through life and our walk with Him would be pain-free or without suffering. As a matter of fact, there have been many who have walked through pain and suffering BECAUSE of their walk with Jesus – both in days past and even today in many parts of our world.(1) However, whatever the cause of our pain or suffering, He did promise that He would never leave us nor forsake us.(2)
i recently finished writing a fictional novella about Joseph, the carpenter, who God chose to be the earthly father to His One and Only Son. The Gospel accounts would indicate that Joseph died sometime between when Jesus was twelve and when He began His earthly ministry at the age of thirty. i became mindful, as i wrote the story, that Joseph was the only immediate earthly family member of Jesus who “predeceased” Him. We don’t know how Joseph died or the circumstances surrounding his death. But we can safely presume that Jesus was with him – or at least nearby.
The Son of God, who had the power to keep His earthly father from experiencing the pain and suffering of death, watched and walked with Joseph as he passed through the valley of the shadow of death. He walked with His mother Mary and His half-brothers and half-sisters as they too walked through the journey with him. i found myself wondering what was going on in Mary’s mind and heart when it was happening. She and Joseph (and perhaps their other children) knew who Jesus was and what He could have done. But i think that’s the thing – they KNEW who Jesus was! They KNEW He was able … but they also knew that He KNEW what was best. They KNEW better than anyone that He was the Light of the world. He had come to extinguish the darkness. He had come to defeat suffering and death. He had come that sin might be defeated once and for all. And though they … and we … may need to endure it for a little while, we do so with His promise – the promise of One who has walked where we are walking. One of Jesus’s closest friends said it best, “After you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ, will Himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.”(3)
Therein is the hope and the light of the Gospel! Yes, to use Michael W. Smith’s words: “shadows may loom ahead, but He holds us in the palm of His hand, and the hope we have in Him illuminates the sky!”
In the meantime, i pray He finds me … and you … faithful to be keepers of the light … His Light!
* * * * *
In this post, i reference my upcoming book, A Carpenter Called Joseph. The book releases on November 12th. Click HERE if you’d like more information about the book or how you can pre-order a copy.
* * * * *
(1) Hebrews 11:35-38 (ESV)
(2) Hebrews 13:5 (ESV)
(3) 1 Peter 5:10 (ESV)
Copyright © 2021 Kenneth A. Winter All rights reserved.
Photo by DiegoPH on Unsplash
Sing Again
Sometimes the pain felt like a hallow in my chest
Sometimes I struggle just to take another step
All I could see was shadows looming up ahead
Will we find some peace in the end
Through all the fear and doubt, we long for better days
And in our hopelessness we tried to find our way
Yet in the strife we saw a glimmer through the haze
Even in the sorrow we can still believe
This lonely heart will sing again
These barren lungs will breathe again
Through suffering we're stronger
In the palm of His hand
Like a beacon in the night
Hope illuminates the sky
Reaching for each other
And as we carry on
We are keepers of the light
We now remember who we are and how to live
To love with open arms, to heal and to forgive
And we'll keep shining like a city on a hill
Even in the sorrow, we can still believe
This lonely heart will sing again
These barren lungs will breathe again
Through suffering we're stronger
In the palm of His hand
Like a beacon in the night
Hope illuminates the sky
Reaching for each other
And as we carry on
We are keepers of the light
Our lonely hearts will sing again
Our barren lungs will breathe again
Together we are stronger
And as we carry on
We are keepers of
Keepers of the light
We'll make it through the night
Written by Michael W. Smith, Wes King, Ryan Smith