My heart has been grieving for a dear friend whose husband recently passed away—after a long bout with cancer. She is a woman of strong faith. She prayed for her husband for many years. God answered her prayers, and through the grace of God, he overcame lifelong addictions. To us, it seemed as if his ministry was just beginning—that he had the potential to tell, teach, and encourage hundreds (perhaps thousands) of addicts about the transforming power of Jesus.
His death left unanswered questions. What went wrong? Did we lack faith? What happened to the impact that he could have had? That we thought he was going to have?
With hurricanes, earthquakes, baffling shootings, and continued wars, my friend’s death is certainly not the only one that causes concern and brings questions to our minds.
Often, I do not understand why things happen the way they do; God does not answer my “Why?” questions. Yet, in my soul, I have peace–the sign of his presence.
On Sunday afternoon, as I was walking along the lakeshore and praying about these things, God gave me a new song. It flowed out of the following Scripture, which I read earlier in the day.
“For the mountains may depart
and the hills be removed,
but my steadfast love shall not depart from you,
and my covenant of peace shall not be removed,”
says the Lord, who has compassion on you.
(Isaiah 54:10 NLT)
Jesus Keeps His Promises
Jesus keeps his promises
And this is what he says to us:
Never, never, never, never
Never will I leave you.
Never, never, never, never
I will never leave you.
In this time of pain and sorrow,
I long to be your Comforter
Never, never, never, never
Never will I leave you.
Never, never, never, never
I will never leave you.
I will carry you along
Give you peace—restore your song.
Never, never, never, never
Never will I leave you.
Never, never, never, never
I will never leave you.
He doesn’t answer every question
Yet, we feel our Lord’s compassion
Never, never, never, never
Never will he leave us.
Never, never, never, never
He will never leave us.
Some things remain a mystery
Until in heaven’s light, we see.
Never, never, never, never
Never will he leave us.
Never, never, never, never
He will never leave us.
Having hope, our tears contain
A peace that we cannot explain.
Never, never, never, never
Never will he leave us.
Never, never, never, never
He will never leave us.
Jane Ault 10/8/2017
In times of pain and sorrow, it may be difficult to maintain self-control and gratitude. When we choose to receive God’s grace and love, we grow toward emotional freedom. He empowers us to overcome destructive anger, resentment, and revenge. Buy here.
At this time in our lives, Jane, this is such a powerful reminder. Thank you. Judith
You are welcome, Judith. I appreciate your encouraging comment. Jane
Thank you Jane…our God is well able to bring us all to His grace, even when the road surprises us with turns we did not expect….
You are welcome, Diane. Yes, there are often unexpected surprises in our lives; I’m so glad that God knows about them, is well prepared, and able to give us his abundant grace.
Dear Jane,
Your poem tells me to repeat
that never, never, never part over
and over! Thankyou.
Judith, the “never, never, never ” part of my poem is emphasized for me, too.